2021, Stage 1 Gryffindor vs Ravenclaw: Match 2

Round 14

Something really HAD changed with Alec. Jake didn't know what but the boy who had started out bragging and laughing (well he HAD gotten tickle jinxed, but still...) was now sighing and looking like he just wanted to go home. How come? They were winning, weren't they? That's what it SEEMED like at least. Jake felt some kind of discomfort watching the two Gryffindors. He didn't know what, but something was wrong. Jake didn't always understand what was going on between people even if he COULD hear it, but he could sense tension.

EVERYONE seemed kind of mad at Alec. And even if he had been bullying before, that still didn't make it ok what SAMANTHA said... Jake knew he should have done a better job of stopping it. He just didn't know how. Everything had happened fast, and there was dueling, and he had to make sure everybody was following the rules of THAT and then there was fire and...it was just so much. The fighting wasn't as bad as before, but it still hadn't stopped. Alec had made everybody mad at him, but hadn't Jake learned that sometimes people acted out because they felt bad themselves? He knew Alec maybe deserved for people to be mad at him for being mean, and that maybe it would teach a lesson. But hearing Samantha's mean words back just didn't seem right. After all, Jake had once known what it was like to not have friends.

But soon the spells were flying again. Maybe the Gryffindors were having some tension between them or maybe they weren't, Jake wasn't sure, but when it came time to cast they still worked as a team. Their wands moved at once, but Samantha's moved at the same time, maybe even faster. Her knockback jetted towards Rose, who would take the hit on her arm, but it was too late. Rose's spell had already been cast. One duelist had NOT cast.

The frustration in Dealla was clear, after so many blindfolds Jake had lost count. So frustrated it seemed, that before raising her wand she would whip the blindfold off of her head, and as her vision returned to her she would only for a split second see the two incoming flipendos, criss-crossing towards her direction. It would be the last thing she saw before the spells collided into her simultaneously and fired her backwards across the dueling stage. The girl slammed to the ground with a thud. Dealla did not get back up.

"Wait!!!" Jake shouted, a surprisingly loud voice coming from his little body as he held out his arms and waved them wildly.

"E-everyone stop 'til she's taken care of!" Jake called out, hands still held out anxiously like a crossing guard. He was NOT going to let any casting happen until she was taken off the platform and tended to. What if they hurt her worse? To many, being knocked out was just part of dueling. After all, they were all wizards, and it would be fixed quickly. They'd seen it many times before. Jake hadn't. To Jake, seeing someone fall to the ground and not get back up...He knew this was gonna happen...but actually seeing it....

But it all happened quickly. The attendants were used to this. The girl was removed in a flash to safety where she would be fixed up like new. His eyes drifted towards them, to make sure they were helping her, and that she was going to be ok. The duel would still continue, though Samantha would be dueling alone.

"Okay," Jake said finally. "Y-You can keep dueling now."

Did he have tears in his eyes? Maybe a little.

Information

1. You have 96 hours (4 days) from the time of this post to post at least 50 words and owl me (Jake Morris) your moves.

2. Please don't hint at your move inside of your RP, as it gives the other team an advantage.

3. If you don't post before the deadline, your move will be void.

4. If you have any questions, or notice anything wrong in the mod post, please don't hesitate to send me an owl!

5. Your stats, abilities, and spells have been locked for this duel. Any new abilities added to your trunk after this duel started cannot be used.

6. For your convenience, here are the duelling rules, the duelling spells, and the latest patch.

7. Good luck!

The spectator thread for this duel can be found here
This duel takes place during Day 1!

Samantha fully concentrated on casting and aiming her spell. When she saw the spell hit Rose she was very happy with herself. But when she heard Dee fall on the ground it instantly disappeared.

The brunette didn't waste a second when she noticed what happened to her dueling partner. She put down her wand and rushed to Dee. Even though Samantha knew that somebody would get unconscious somewhere in the duel, she still wasn't prepared for it. She hadn't expected Dee to be the first one out. She hadn't even thought about the fact that one of the Ravenclaws would be the first victim of the duel. Samantha had been sure that they would win and if one of them would be unconscious, it would have been her.

Samantha worriedly watched as the older girl was removed from the stage, away from the danger. The young girl reminded herself that Dee was going to be fine. She should stop worrying about the other girl and focus on the duel. She needed to win this and make Dee and the rest of the team proud!

Hex code:#A0A9B8

“I thought that was obvious...?” Alec answered in an unexpectedly playful manner to her words. He seemed slightly impressed, though didn't voice that he was, or even why he was impressed at all. Alec shrugged after that, “I don't care about the classification it puts me in. I just don't want to get punched in the face again.” It slipped out of Alec's lips before he'd realized he said it. It took Alec a moment, but he looked away the second he realized. “Metaphorically, with words- Strong uh they hurt...?” Alec looked uncomfortable, those words followed suit far too quickly. Alec's eyes darted from looking at one place to another. . . Maybe she wouldn't care, or believe Alec, maybe she would think he was lying. How could Henry every punch anyone? He wanted those to be her thoughts. Or at the very least if she already knew about it, it would slide off of her easily. Those had to be either of the outcomes. “I should focus now.” Alec mumbled quietly

It wasn't what Alec had was anywhere at near close to what he had been implying Rose should inquire Henry about. Alec didn't know if Henry had a history a being violent, he didn't want too know, it chanced getting punched again. The feeling of getting punched, or even the feeling after, it didn't bother Alec. Not as much as the questions about it did. It wasn't that big of a deal. Alec was sure he had gotten injured much worse when duelling.

Alec was trying to point out strategy after that, pointing out patterns because it may have been useful to find a weak spot. Apparently he hadn't been as tactful as he thought he had at doing so. His eyes widened in surprise, “I didn't mean it like that. I believe you were, I was just trying to point something out and make conversation...” It was the least Alec could do. He thought it was smarter to have two pairs of eyes. The words hung in the air for a moment, then Alec added something more, “sorry.”

Samantha's earlier words would finally catch up with Alec.

Alec did care about people liking him. That's why he was in the position he was in, as strange as that sounded. He wished he didn't. . . He was trying to work on not compromising himself. Specifically with his habit of wearing nail polish. There were people who didn't like that he did that. He was learning to accept it, and move forward, still doing it. No matter what.

“-you are just too annoying for anybody to like you.”

Alec would visibly recoil, looking slightly shaken. He would look away. Try to straighten his posture for what he thought had to be at least the tenth time this duel. Look back. Look away. Look back. Alec was uncomfortable with those words for reasons that weren't as relevant t to the moment. “That's rather callous... ” Alec whispered under his breath, his eyes had fallen back on his shoes. He looked up. “It's cruel that this is what your trying to play at. See, here's the actual difference between me and you. I can recognize when I'm being a git. Because, merlin, I'm not that hopeless and insensitive. I'm not afraid to admit it, and people can justly make all the claims they feel necessary.”

“You...” Alec said, “well, you, fail to see you practically mimicking the actions your supposedly reprimanding and telling me off for. Unlike you, I won't tell you off for it, but, I will call your bluff.” Alec was surprised he managed to sound so together in that moment. Though he was incredibly frustrated, not to mention he had a hard time understanding the moral whereabouts of what it meant. Telling someone off for something, and yet, your doing it? Alec thought she needed to take a step back.

Casting commenced, at least the Gryffindor pair was in tune. They knew what they were doing, and they knew how to do it well. That was some strategy when they couldn't pick at weak spots. Both of Alec's and Rose's spells had landed before Dealla had been able to take that blindfold off. At least she'd been able to get it off before she fell. Alec grimaced at the sight. Taking a step back without realizing. Rose had flipendo hit her during the round, but she seemed fine for the most part.

Alec did worry, but worrying wasn't going to get him anywhere. He took a deep breath to center himself. They had good things going for them. All they had to do was finish on with that trend. Alec wanted to pep Rose up, this time because well, they could do this and there was proof and that was a good feeling. He wasn't sure where him and Rose stood that moment. He didn't want to anger her. Instead he focused on preparing for what was to come next.

Action: Doing what was/will be owled~

@Alec Mason | @Dealla Prince | @Samantha Salwis | mentioning Henry Knight

Rose just wished Samantha would follow her partner's lead. Or Rose's lead. Or pretty much anybody's lead except for Alec. Samantha was just making everything worse. Just because Alec started it, didn't give Samantha the go-ahead to just be mean to him back. Maybe he deserved it, but that still didn't mean Samantha shouldn't choose to be the bigger person in this.

Alec replied playfully to her, and she was unable to suppress a smile following that. Rose assumed he probably didn't care much about the labels she put on him, and nodded as he voiced that. Made sense to her. But the next part- about getting punched in the face? Wait, what? Was he implying that Henry had punched him in the face? No, he couldn't be. Henry wouldn't punch anybody in the face. Her gaze flicked to him, confusion in her eyes. She opened her mouth to ask if she had heard him correctly, but he quickly seemed to amend his sentence, adding that he was only punched in the face metaphorically, because words had hurt him.

Rose found it impossible to be angry with him in that moment. She had a feeling he might be lying, but she shook that away. Whatever beef was between Henry and Alec, Rose didn't need to be a part of it unless Alec got anywhere near hurting Henry. Her eyes looked amused, watching him fumble over his words. "Ah, okay," she said, a small smile lingering on her face.

He seemed to notice her sour demeanor towards her and apologized, something she hadn't expected in the slightest. She'd never heard him apologize before. She shook her head. That hadn't been entirely fair to Alec. "It's okay, it wasn't your fault. I'm just frustrated, 'cause we're so close..." And almost every time she got hit, she felt like she was loosing her duel back last year- miserably loosing.

They finally seemed to be getting somewhere. Rose watched as her knockback jinx's aim was true, followed by Alec's. Their double-Flipendo had worked. Dealla would have most definitely been able to dodge without the blindfold, but because of the blindfold, they had finally been able to get a really good hit on her.

But unfortunately, Samantha hit Rose with her own Knockback Jinx, causing the Gryffindor to stumble backwards a couple of steps. The exhaustion was getting to her, and she steeled her gaze at the Ravenclaws, ready to cast another spell out of adrenaline, when she jumped at a loud command coming from the small Hufflepuff captain. She hadn't known that such a loud sound could come out of him.

In being hit with Samantha's Knockback Jinx, Rose hadn't seen Dealla fall to the ground due to their own jinxes. The redhead instinctively froze, unable to move for a moment, her eyes trained on the Ravenclaw on the floor.

That had been her, once. She had been knocked unconscious just like that once. She had thought so bad of her opponents for having no mercy on her. Rose watched Samantha. The girl looked a little bit better off than Rose, but she still looked weak, and there was nobody by her side now. She was just alone, all alone. Would she continue to be as confident now that her older partner was gone?

Rose glanced over to Alec, suggesting, "Just ignore her. We're much better off than she is, anyway."

After a moment of staring at the Ravenclaw being hauled off, Rose looked over at Alec. "That was great," she said, smiling. "One to go. We can do this." The second part sounded more like Rose trying to convince herself than Rose reassuring Alec. She had to do this. She could do this.

...Right?

Rose readied herself to cast another spell. Could she bring herself to have the same lack of mercy that was shown to her in her duels last year? It was all part of her job in the duel, as a duelist.

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can...

Round 15

Dealla's fall had left the Ravenclaw team one member down, and Samantha had instantly rushed to her partner's side. Jake wasn't the only one who had worried as the third-year girl had lost consciousness. If it was Jake he might have just forfeited right there, but Samantha was tougher than that. She was going to keep fighting, which was surely what Dealla would have wanted.

The mood had grown somber, and not just because of Dealla's fall. Something had changed amongst the duelists, who had been fighting in such a spirited way before. Was it what Samantha had said...? Or Henry...? But Alec who had seemed so full of energy and bravado earlier in the duel had quieted and gotten much more serious. Rose was looking across the platform at her opponent, perhaps wondering if she had what it took to do what had to be done. A duel had to feel differently when it became 2-on-1. When one opponent had already fallen. Did Samantha even stand a chance?

But Samantha was going to fight against the odds. Samantha wasn't going to give up until the end, and she would make the Ravenclaw team proud as she stood firm and shot a defiant knockback jinx right towards Rose! Maybe she would even the score...make it one-on-one again. It came so close to hitting its target, and maybe if it had hit, everything would have ended differently. But Rose stepped out of the way, turning her wand on herself to heal a bit before she could be taken out by Samantha.

But then it was Alec who struck the final blow. Alec who sent forward a knockback jinx that seemed to zoom across the platform, hitting its target perfectly. Jake watched with wide eyes as Samantha's feet came out from under her. The girl would fly backwards and land to the ground with a thud, taken completely off her feet. She didn't stand back up.

Jake watched her, waiting for her to move, to get up, to do anything..but she didn't.

"Th-that's it..." Jake said, holding up his hands. "Gryffindor wins...!" He tried to bring forth the enthusiasm he knew he was supposed to. The Gryffindors had won a hard-fought battle and they deserved to celebrate their victory and feel proud. But how hard it was to see what happened to the losers of a duel...Jake just had to see that they were ok, before the pit in his stomach could go away, and he rushed over as soon as he was able.

GRYFFINDOR WINS

Congratulations!

Gryffindor is the winners!

Thanks for being my first duel I ever modded! (My first ANYTHING I ever modded O_O). I had so much fun reading your posts and reacting. Thank you guys for a very entertaining duel to read and congratulations Gryffindors for a very hard fought win!!!

The spectator thread for this duel can be found here
This duel takes place during Day 1!

Eligible for Rewards
To be eligible for rewards, your team should have won the duel and you shouldn't be disqualified.

@Alec Mason
@Rose Moon

Please link to this post in the trunk updates if you wish to claim your +1 stat point from this duel.

@Alec Mason | @Dealla Prince | @Samantha Salwis

Rose's exhaustion was setting in. She couldn't quite bring herself to turn her wand on Samantha again, so she turned it on herself. "Reparifors," she whispered, strength returning to her. She felt relief wash through her, feeling a little stronger.

But Alec had more determination than she did. And as she finished casting her spell, Alec sent a Flipendo towards Samantha. The Knockback Jinx was incredibly perfect, and Rose's eyes watched it as it zipped towards Samantha. She quickly dodged the spell aimed at her, then watched as the spell hit Samantha. The girl almost dodged it, but wasn't able to.

The spell was powerful, and knocked her back. Samantha fell down, and the small captain announced the end of the duel.

They had won. Rose couldn't believe it at first- was she dreaming?

In the rush of joy and adrenaline, she turned to Alec. Before she could consider her actions or stop herself, Rose hugged him (unless Alec dodged, of course. Feel free to have Alec dodge) and said excitedly, "We did it!"

It was a second after she hugged him that she realized what she had done. Flushing red, she pulled away from him, taking a couple steps back to let him regain his personal space. "I- sorry. But- that was brilliant! That Knockback Jinx was perfect!" She smiled. "Thank you."

Though Rose had a feeling that Alec had carried her to victory, she had done stuff, too. She had hit them with a few Flipendos. But here she was... winning. Rose didn't know she could do that. Maybe she had done something right, for once, after all? Maybe what she needed was confidence. Rose's eyes caught on Samantha being taken off the stage and to the hospital wing. She hoped with all her heart the Ravenclaws were okay. She knew what it felt like to loose a duel.

She shook away the thoughts and bid Alec goodbye, stepping off the stage and leaving the dueling club.

It was such a pleasure to write with you guys! Sorry birbs for kicking your butt Thanks so much, Jake, for being a wonderful mod And thank you, Alec, for being an excellent partner