Dodge Spell S.W.A.G fin

MENTIONING | Alan, Flash, the people who brought their cats
INTERACTING WITH | n/a

ENGLISH | #6B5076
WELSH | #9E8FB9
UZBEK | #874343

Autumn crossed her arms, about to complain internally about yet another group she had joined that she had to remain committed to even though she no longer found the concept interesting, only to realise that this actually wasn't the case for S.W.A.G. club. She actually kind of genuinely looked forward to the meeting, as strange as that was for her. No nagging sense of social obligation or "I have nothing better to do, so I may as well", no, she was honestly kind of... excited, maybe?

This would be her first S.W.A.G. club game, and it was a spell based one, which was an immediate source of intrigue for Autumn. She wasn't super interested in broom-based activities, since she liked her feet a lot more when they were on the ground, but spells? She liked spells. It was also October, marking the month of Autumn's favourite holiday, Halloween, so her month had already been spent happier than usual, and this meeting seemed like a perfect last day event to an already incredible week.

Her original point in joining the club had been improving her duelling anyway, and now she got to do that, in a strange game that mixed magic with one of her favourite Muggle games; dodgeball.

She didn't really know anyone who was already there, but that was fine.

That was fine? The fact that she was attending a mildly social event with nobody she knew there was fine? Who was she turning into, and what had happened to the Autumn she had once known?

Autumn chalked it up to getting to play magic dodgeball in October. She remained quiet when she arrived to the group, giving a small nod to Alan and Flash, the organisers of the event. She began studying the group, pausing only when she realised the multiple people who had brought their cats to wonder whether she should have brought hers.

ACTION | Arriving

STATS | Stamina - 7 | Evasion - 7 | Strength - 7 | Wisdom - 8 (7+10% from comprehend languages = 7.7 = 8 ) | ArcPower - 8 | Accuracy - 9
ABILITIES | Sixth Sense - Perfectionist - Comprehend Languages (Mermish)
RACE | Human
HEALTH | 700/700 - 100%

START

Alan would give a soft smile and a formal greeting to the students he didn't actually know. He believed to catch sight of a first year and would step over to them, paying attention not to trip over Tiger who had found its way to them. As expected the cat could always be found where drama was about to go down. "Hey there, you must be one of our new member, welcome to the club!" he would give @Liana Kerr a friendly smile as he extended his hand for a handshake. All three between River, Pericles and Xailah would get a personal greeting as well, feeling like he knew them most from the lot.

As soon as that interaction had been completed, he would go through the basic rules of the game before taking a look at the gathered students. "Alright then, let us first put @Xailah Alptraum and @Delilah Stewart on opposite teams," he promptly decided with a chuckle. Not that it would matter in the long run as this game was all about betrayal and fluid teams. He would then continue to move through the rest of the students, mostly by year and what he felts seemed kind of fair. After all at least at the start of the game each of the teams should have a somewhat even ground to start on. He was already curious how the dynamics would change right of the bat.

player stats

Open to interactions
Interacting: @Scarlet Salvatore | @Cassandra Ironwoods | @Liana Kerr
Mentioning: @Flash Holmwood | Loki

It didn't take long for others to wander in. The regulars always appeared to find their way to these games fairly quickly. One could suppose it became routine after awhile. Xailah watched each student that arrived, for a short while. There were a few new faces filing in with the regular Chex Mix. All young kids. First years maybe. No. Definitely first years. They still had that starry, wide-eyed stare, and soft expression of someone not yet touched by Hogwarts trauma. It made Xailah wonder, had she ever been like that? Maybe. She couldn't recall exactly. Her first two years were a nonsensical, surrealistic blur. The years following were being spent in attempt to salvage what was left of a childhood. One of the yearlings- a wee lass with coppery red hair, and a spattering of star-like freckles across her nose- approached the small accumulation of students; looked at, and nodded to them. Xailah nodded back, bumping her chin up in acknowledgement. She then watched the ginger move away, to find her own grass patch to sit on. The glance in Xailahs direction went unnoticed by the metamorph, for Xailahs eyes had wandered somewhere else by that time, though that didn't mean it went completely unnoticed. Schrödinger saw, and in turn he began moving and burbling, as if he were a sentient tower of aspic.

Xailah mistook her felines soft sounds, as reaction to Pericles arrival. The cat usually cooed when seeing him. Sometimes, Xailah would absentmindedly mimic the behavior. She never caught onto it. Likely never would, if never pointed out. The boy greeted the girl and cat with- okay, he greeted the cat with outstretched arms. Schrödinger knew what that meant. Scritchy scratchy behind the ears, and belly rub time. He promptly waddled within touching distance of the Ravenclaw. Xailah got a less pleasant greeting from Pericles. She was greeted with a nice (however brief) view of his pantleg. Thanks. His attendance came as no surprise. The game had likely been discussed with boyish excitement in the days leading up to it. The cubs eyes immediately fell to the fledglings shoes. Something on them garnered her attention. Nothing unusual; though entirely distracting when noticed. Ugh. Strings- one of her biggest material weaknesses. No loose thread was safe when Xailah was around. There was a reason why she was forbidden from owning knitted sweaters of any sort. She could reduce Aunties gifted holiday pullover into a pile of yarn, in one hour tops. Have a favorite knitted cardigan? If you have a Xailah in your household, then you don't anymore. Now, shoelaces weren't usually a problem, because they weren't usually within reach. Rather than sit, Pericles had planted his heels right next to Xailah, immediately exposing his laces to mindlessly wandering hands. Foolish boy.

It was never a good idea to put ones shoestrings in such a vulnerable position- where they could be undone... tied together... stolen. Pericles should have just taken a seat. A sneaky, velveteen finger, inched its way towards the laces binding the young mans well-shined shoes. Tapering thumb, and index finger clasped around an aglet. Perhaps he would feel a slight tug; the loosening of a knot; the slow, slippery hiss of thread being pulled over itself. Or maybe he would just see what was being done. Xailah would stop for a moment so she could give Pericles her (partial) full attention, when he began to speak. She latched onto his excited tone, noting that what he was talking about, must have been important to him. She gave a short hum to let the boy know that she was listening. He spoke of what he learned in his Defense class- Xailah assumed DADA- expressing some disappointment for not being able to utilize it. There was always a catch to learning cool new spells. There was seemingly never any time to practice them outside of classes. "Yes, a ssshame. What spell was it?" She bobbed her head slowly in consideration. Humming thoughtfully, the lioness added: "There will be other opportunities to play with it." Hopefully those other opportunities didn't involve boys that were supposed to be dead and buried, or creatures that weren't meant to be sentient.

When the game began, Xailah stood, brushing herself off; and Schrödinger was quickly ushered away. His mistress's slender finger led him to a spot where he would (hopefully) be safe from stray spells. Alan split the small group of students into teams, separating the two fifth years first, before whittling away at the rest. Xailah watched excitedly, while each student was sent to the group they would call team. Prominent faces were sent to her side- a fellow choir member and participant in the Trial by Fear, the small red-haired first year. The darker haired girl was a bit of a mystery, but she appeared to know Henry. When Pericles was sent the metamorphs way; a short, approving smile was given; as Xailah was clearly pleased to have him sorted onto her team. For now. They worked far too well together, and had yet to be beaten as a duo. Xailahs finger waggled at Pericles in a curious, 'I'll tell you what', sort of way; once he was within earshot. A spark, lit up her peepers with metallic light. A playful crinkle formed at her eyes outermost corner; which could only mean one thing: she had an idea. "We win, you can try out that fancy new spell of yours." A proposal? Yes. Silly goals made games all the more fun. There was of course another side to the coin: "We lose-" She looked at him with a cheeky splintering of a smile, and upturned brow. "-I get to use you as a practice dummy." Her hands went for her black wand; fingers wrapped readily around its hilt. "What say you?

The endearing noises emanating from the feline were amusing and distracting enough for Liana to lose some of the tension she was feeling. She'd have loved to pet the cat; truly, if it wasn't for social norms, dignity and the need for permissions, she'd probably spend most of her free time just playing with the furry companions that so many Hogwarts students possessed. That urge was always there.

Other participants of the upcoming game began arriving, making the first-year shift her attention away from the familiar. All of the students were older; most of them were strangers to her, too, although they seemed to know each other pretty well. There were exactly two people here that she knew. One was Aurora, the Ravenclaw oddball that was part of the Fall Ball planning committee along with Liana, now mumbling a nonsensical sequence of words that seemed to be guesses for what S.W.A.G. meant. The other was Scarlet, the book thief who was yet to pay for wronging the redhead; the first-year found herself wishing that Scarlet would be placed in the opposing team - there would certainly be a great satisfaction in firing a Knockback Jinx at the brunette.

Some other upperclassmen were vaguely familiar. The third-year Slytherin boy, Henry, was sometimes seen chatting with Avery. To the aspiring duellist's knowledge, Henry was also part of Viridian Vipers. Honestly, she had the full roster memorized and could recognize most of the members by sight, even while they themselves had no inkling she existed. His cat, Loki, was a recognizable presence as well, if not more so - it was high on Liana's list of furry creatures than needed her petting. She nodded in response to the boy's words.

''Thanks, good luck to you too. Though I don't think you need it since you're an experienced duellist, right?''

Another third-year snake (Cassandra) was also a face Liana had seen before, as they shared the same dormitory; nonetheless, the two of them hadn't interacted with each before. While her dorm-mate was socializing with Henry, however, an unfamiliar Ravenclaw boy (Pericles) approached.

''My very first, yes,'' the girl responded, studying his pale complexion. Her ears pricked for any and all interactions in the vicinity, she had overheard him calling to his housemates with the extremely important keyword - duel. Which revealed that he, as well as the eldest Ravenclaw girl present (Delilah), were members of a duelling team as well. Not surprising - this club seemed like the very place where people like them would gather to practice their skills; exactly the reason why Liana had signed up in the first place. She'd have to watch them and try to learn. ''Well, I made peace with the idea that I may have to spend some time in the hospital wing after this game; wouldn't be my first time there.'' True, her foremost experience of the Hospital Wing occurred last week, thanks to the first-year duelling event; she suspected that spells cast by older pupils would cause more damage and knock her out faster. She had to shift her focus away from the pale boy as Cassandra initiated a conversation as well.

''Yes, I'm from Narcissa dorm,'' she confirmed. ''My name is Liana. Good to finally meet you, Cash.'' The reassuring statements that came next brought a slight smile to the redhead's face. Was she giving off such a strong aura of anxiety? ''Thank you; I'll be okay once the game starts. No need to go easy on me, by the way - I do want some serious duelling practice, that's why I joined the club.'' She may regret the cocky response later, especially if Cash was placed on the rivaling team and they collectively decided to take the most vulnerable enemies out first. Oh, well. Could a third- or a fifth- year's Flipendo really hurt that much more than a first-year's?

One of the S.W.A.G. leaders (Alan) decided to personally welcome her, too. The girl quickly scrambled to her feet to shake his hand, nodding a mute 'thank you' in response to his greeting.

And just like that, the introductions were over. Those who chose to participate in the game today seemed to hail mostly from Slytherin and Ravenclaw - only one Gryffindor (Xailah) and one Hufflepuff (Autumn) were present; well, at least all four houses were represented. Liana hearkened attentively to the explanation on how the game would be played. The whole thing sounded rather confusing; how much loyalty exactly was she supposed to assign to her original team? Well, the best way to find out was to watch others and imitate. As they were divided into teams, the first-year found herself on the same side with the book-thief (pity; perhaps in the next round one of them would end up in the opposing team?), as well as Henry (hopefully his magical combat skills would prove to be advanced), the white-haired Ravenclaw boy (she would pay close attention to his actions, if only to see how well the Ravenclaw duelling team prepared its members), and the fifth-year Gryffindor (likely the most practiced of the group). She supposed the two teams were balanced enough, both in colour and experience. Liana could only hope that she, as the only first-year present, wouldn't prove to be the least efficient of the lot.

@Liana Kerr | @Xailah Alptraum | Team Verdimillious

It ought to have been sad, or at least cause for concern, to hear someone so young claim that they were at peace with being blasted into a hospital bed. But at Hogwarts, one could not afford to lapse into the semantics of age and innocence. After all, it was a school of magic: wonderful, terrible magic, capable of helping or harming (though prone to the latter). So the practical Pericles smiled at the line, a withheld laugh twinkling in his eyes. "Spoken like a seasoned Hogwarts student," he had mused. It was bold, knowing that there would be pain, yet choosing to face the agony anyways. "That is the first step to keeping your head around here. Though," he added gently, "don't forget to enjoy yourself along the way. They are games." He left Liana with a knowing smile and a brief bob of his head.

Peri met Schrödinger's approach with a warm hum, fingers deftly petting in all the right spots, scritching ears and scratching belly. If he noticed his laces being undone, he did not verbalize it, nor did he so much as look down to verify. He went on with his blissful act of ignorance save the subtle curl at one corner of his mouth. "We learned Petrificus Totalus," he replied, sounding especially content. Knowing the Ravenclaw, he had already reflected on all the instances in which this precise spell would have been especially handy. Another tool for his arsenal. These armaments were not typically turned on his allies, however. Pericles pondered Xailah with a sideways look, smirk fading. Their minds wandered simultaneously to the game of Tarantallegra Tag. The offer was answered only with another hum, only this time, it was more tentative and contemplative. Then they were separated, but soon rejoined, and the willowy lad greeted her approving smile with a graceful nod. He then knelt to retie his shoe.

The others entering their team were considered with the same gesture. Xailah, Scarlet, Henry, and... the first year, whose name he hadn't caught. When Liana passed, his free hand was held out, palm-up. Proper introductions were better made late than never. "Welcome to SWAG. I'm Pericles Dralt, though I go by Peri." An attempt was made at an expression of reassurnce. Xailah ensnared his attention again with a wager, one that first caused a frown, then a pensive silence. He rolled over the offer before that familiar look came over him: neutrality, his means of hiding the fact that he had evidently derived a third option, one which he wasn't about to suggest out loud. Rather, Peri uttered only "Alright." He drew an aspen wand, its pale wood contrasting her dark chestnut, considering their teammates. "Right then: I think we have a few seconds to cook up some sort of strategy." An aim at a huddle, with whispered words and covert considerations shared among them.

Action: As Strategized

Statistics

Reducio

Perfectionist, Perfectionist II, Keen Eye
Stamina - 7 | Evasion - 9 | Strength - 4 | Wisdom - 9 | ArcPower - 8 | Accuracy - 9

@Pericles Dralt
Mentions: Alan Vanes

As people began to gather on the grounds, her excitement began to rise more and more. It was going to feel good to try out some spellcasting in a different setting than classes again. And also in a setting that wasn't necessarily trying to actually myrder anyone. Just fun and games.
River smiled as Pericles walked up, chuckling slightly at his comment. “Y’know Pericles, duelling was my original plan and interest“, she answered him. “But after trying quidditch one time I just couldn’t give it up” the eagle added, sending the familiar boy a smirk.
It was true though. Once she’d gotten to Hogwarts and found out about duelling clubs and quidditch and all that stuff, she’d been pretty set on becoming a great duellist. And that’s what she began practicing and studying for. Though, time would come to show that she had a bit of a knack for quidditch too. Perhaps she wasn’t the greatest seeker, but after fighting off her fear of flying, it would prove to be something she enjoyed quite abundantly. And now she couldn’t give it up for duelling. She couldn't tell whether it was because she’d then feel like she gave all her hard work up to her fear again, or if it was because she felt like she’d be giving up the team she’d grown to like so much. Probably a mix of both.

In the end, S.W.A.G was just perfect, because it almost allowed her to enjoy a little bit of both worlds. After Alan had finished setting up the teams, River looked over at Pericles and gave him a quick good luck, before turning her eyes to all the different people, making a note of who’s friend and who’s not. And with that, preparing her first line of action towards victory. Hopefully

Reducio

Action: Doing as Strategized

Race: Dhampir
Abilities: Perfectionist & Beast Master (Owl)

Stats
Stamina: 7
Evasion: 6
Strength: 4
Wisdom: 12
ArcPower: 7
Accuracy: 9

Her hair is lavender

Banner made by Winnie Harper

Mentioning None

Interacting with @Pericles Dralt @Cassandra Ironwoods

"Some Weird Acronym Game,"

What is this? An epiphany? A message from the wizarding gods? Never once did she think the ability to communicate with them came so soon. And it was right where she will participate in her first weird acronym game. But when the girl turned around, it was none other than her died down obsession, Peri the forest fairy. Still as bright, as charming, and as sparkly as ever. Though, apparently, the admiration was only one sided. Almost felt like when you want to high five someone but they ignore it. It was merely his outer appearance anyway that made her all giddy and flustered. She couldn’t handle too much cuteness, especially those with white hair excluding grandpas.

A surprised face was on her face, as if she just heard something extraordinary. “YOU. ARE. A. GENIUS! THANKYOU!” Good looking, smart, and kind. He checked all of the boxes. That made her wonder why she jumped from someone like Peri to the certain gryffindor. Cute, yes, but definitely not very bright nor affectionate. He’d walk all over her and she probably still would be okay with that. This was not a good time to be all gloomy, save that thought for her daily ‘overthinking late night session’. After Alan split the group in two, the girl looked around for anyone she might be comfortable to start a conversation with. As if it was a fate, her path crossed again with the older student from the chamber. “HI CA-“ shoot! Not again. Think, Aurora, think. Maybe it would be better to donate her brain instead to those who actually need it the most. The surface of her brain must be so smooth, considering she rarely uses it. Remembering names was never her forte, imagine her head was a library, and the section with people’s names on it for some unknown unimportant reason was destroyed by a meteor every single day. She analysed the slytherin beater’s appearance quickly. Nice hair, pretty face, looks like a million bucks, indeed. And magically, she remembered. “-SHHHHH” Swiftly replaced her scrunched brows to a more relaxed expression, hiding her lack of memory storage, and waved at them.

So far, so good. Most of the people in the team were familiar faces, and that scary stylish cool girl that seemed to have a tight knit relationship with Peri was not on her team. Was it a bad or a good thing, still a mystery. On the plus side, older and seemed stronger, it might be good to have her in the team. She was not going to lie, her presence was 30% captivating and 70% intimidating. But her fashion style, the Ravenclaw could never pull off that grand level of elegance.

Truth to be told, the owl that Alan sent to her was still pristine, barely touched, and she just skimmed through it. Once she read ‘jinx’, that was all it took for her to join the game with literally zero clue about the rules and the game itself. Aurora walked towards Cash and leaned in as she whispered a dumb question. “Okay, so, we are going to throw acronyms at each other as we jinx them, right?” It was just Aurora being an Aurora to the fullest. Better observe the others first before making her shot.

Sta - 5 | Eva - 8 | Str - 5 Wis - 8 | Arc - 4 | Acc - 10 Terrible Presence Evasive Maneuvers

Action As strategised Outfit Reducio Later smh

Open to Interactions

"Hello Loki!" Scarlet said as she bent down and gave the cat, who was now rubbing against her legs, a gently scratch on the head, "think he's going to give you the edge in today's game," she joked, looking back up to Henry.

"I think it would be a good way to practise a lot of stuff I don't normally do, and, I mean I'm not on the duelling team,” she replied, “also it sounded like a lot of fun!” she added, returning the smile. Looking around at the others gathered, many of whom looked to be in older years, she wondered if, and how many of them were also a duellist like her friend, and hoped she wasn’t the only amateur there.

Henry was at least on her team, it went some way to make up for the fact that so was Liana, though when she had thought back to their meeting in the library, Scarlet considered the fact that she might have been a tad too harsh on the first year. She was feeling a bit rough at the time and so partially blames herself for how everything went, but still, some of the comments the girl had made didn’t sit well with Scarlet.

Scarlet offered a kind of ‘good luck’ smile to the rest of the line up that made up her team, two of them she recognised as prefects she had seen about the castle, she hoped that might give them a better chance, but then so we’re some of the opposing team.

“Thanks, good luck Henry,” she said, he was right, after all it was a game, but that didn’t mean she cared about winning any less. “Good luck,” she said after Henry, also to Liana, she figured they couldn’t start the game, with them being on the same team, without saying anything, “shoot straight,” she added jokingly, unsure whether the girl would perceive it as the joke it was, or continuation of the hostility between them. Shifting her attention towards the other team, she readied herself for the start of the game.

Interacting with @Henry Knight (& Loki) & @Liana Kerr
Mentions Team Verdimillious

Actions: As strategised
Stats: Stamina - 4 | Evasion - 4 | Strength - 7 | Wisdom - 9 | Arcane Power - 7 | Accuracy - 4
Race: Werewolf | Abilities: Terrible Presence

TEAM | Flipendo

MENTIONING | n/a
INTERACTING WITH | @Cassandra Ironwoods

ENGLISH | #6B5076
WELSH | #9E8FB9
UZBEK | #874343

Autumn already liked this game. Not just because it had, as previously mentioned, two of her favourite thing, dodgeball and duelling, in it, but because the idea of fluid teams and betrayal was intriguing. Her favourite genre had always been mystery, because of the suspense and awareness that something that was one way could be or become another in any given moment. This game was kind of covering all the bases for her, and she was kind of loving it. In a slightly broody, generally silent and carefully composed, 'Autumn' way, of course.

She examined her team, and found it to be made up of almost entirely Ravenclaws. She felt an uneasy mix of envy and enstrangement. Entering Hogwarts and learning about the houses in the beginning of her first year, she had been sure that she would be sorted into either Ravenclaw or Slytherin. She was getting more used to the whole Hufflepuff thing, and maybe the house was growing on her a little, but she still couldn't help but feel alienated among her fellow Hufflepuffs and jealous of Ravenclaw and Slytherin's members.

There was another non-Ravenclaw member though, one Autumn recognised to be Cassandra Ironwoods from the potion incident. She awkwardly smiled at them, her smile coming out almost as a pained grimace, not even knowing what she expected in return. Solidarity? Empathy? Confirmation that she wasn't the only one who felt odd in a group full of students from a single house that wasn't her own?

Autumn tried to stop thinking about being the only Hufflepuff in her group, and instead noticed that her entire team were all either Quidditch players or duellers. That could be useful later in the game, especially the duellers. Still, she had to remember that the teams weren't permanent and that planning too far ahead would most likely only result in needless disappointment. Which, she added a moment later, almost meant that her problem with the group of Ravenclaws would probably stop being a problem pretty soon.

Still, she could afford to appreciate her group while she was part of it, and appreciate she did. Flipendo was one of her favourite spells, and that of itself was good enough reason to appreciate life, if only for a moment. She drew her wand, the incantation on the tip of her tongue, ready to unleash hell.

ACTION | Wouldn't you like to know, weather boy.

STATS | Stamina - 7 | Evasion - 7 | Strength - 7 | Wisdom - 8 (7+10% from comprehend languages = 7.7 = 8 ) | ArcPower - 8 | Accuracy - 9
ABILITIES | Sixth Sense - Perfectionist - Comprehend Languages (Mermish)
RACE | Human
HEALTH | 700/700 - 100%