Familiar Spaces PV Meenauh closed

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Saturday, 15 Jan 2022
Afternoon
As usual, the week before the next stage of the duelling championship found Dealla more often than not in Hogwarts' duelling facilities. Practicing her casting, her aim, her dodging if someone was around who was willing to shoot a few spells at her.

When she had joined the duelling team, it had been mostly a means to an end. Being chosen as the captain of Ravenclaw's team had fit her plans to impress the grandparents she'd never met just fine. Wasted effort, Dealla now knew. They were impossible to impress. Rather than be awed by all that she had accomplished in the two and a half years since she had arrived at Hogwarts for the first time, her grandfather had chosen to focus on the one thing where her performance was subpar.

Yet in the meantime, duelling had grown into something more than a tool for her. It was now a source of pride, something she loved, that she poured most of her free time into. She'd missed it over the winter break, the muted light of the duelling room, shouted incantations and flashes of light. Perhaps she should have just stayed here. She could have used the time to get some extra practice in. Her last duel hadn't gone well for her, she'd spent half the time blindfolded and useless.

Exhaling, Dee adjusted her stance, focusing on the practice dummy she had claimed for herself. A good duelling stance had a lot of requirements; she had to be focused enough to aim with precision, nimble enough to move and evade on instinct, yet stable enough to not be knocked off of her feet if her opponents' spells were faster than her reflexes. "Ventus," she muttered, and watched the gust of wind burst from her wand, shooting straight for the dummy. She willed it to split, a feat that she knew was possible but only seemed to happen rarely. She imagined it was something of a first step towards being able to split any spell, something she was still determined to learn.

The wind jinx did not split, but at least hit the dummy straight on, sending it spinning, and Dee sighed, rolling her shoulders to loosen the tension. Practice was a lot more efficient with a partner.
@Meenauh Silmataurea

"One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar."
Familiar Spaces PV Meenauh closed
She still didn't get used to being back to the magical world. Half a year turned out to be quite a lot. Enough to forget what it was to be a student in a wizarding school. Casting routine spells kept the magic in tact, but nothing could compare to duelling. The heat of a battle, precision, perfectionism — everything was sort of forgotten. And now she applied to get back on the team again.

The room seemed quite full, considering it was a matter of several days until the new stage of the championship starts. So it seemed a lot of duellists spent their free time practising. Being around was already filling her battle magic up. She performed a quick overview of the room and notice one of the dummies that was vacant, but it was on the other side of the room. She was shifting through the room, full conscience, not to get hit by a random spell. When she finally reached her dummy, she heard the Ventus sent over with a very precise incantation and ideal gesture. The spell hit the dummy and Meenauh silently approved. And then not silently:
Interacting with @Dealla Prince
"Wow, nice hit, Ms. Prince," she said out loud, still looking at the trembling dummy.

She knew all the duellists from all houses by name. She studied their strategy, their advantages and disadvantages, when she was on the team. Dummies were nice for a warm-up, but nothing could compare to a live sparring with a real opponent.

"Do you mind being my partner today? I've become quite rusty, so I need a shake-up," she smiled at the girl and paused, "Just after a quick warm-up."

"Expelliarmus!" she threw the spell at the dummy, sending the stick in its hand (or whatever was seeming to a dummy friend) far away only to see the stick flying back into its hand again. The dummy requested another spell, and Meenauh gladly provided more.

Meenauh Silmataurea | STA: 9 | EVA: 10 | STR: 2 | WIS: 25 | ARC: 14 | ACC: 13
Familiar Spaces PV Meenauh closed
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The duelling room was rarely empty, there was always someone around practising, even outside of team practices, so Dee had learned to ignore other students around her. It wouldn't do to have her concentration break anytime someone took a step into her direction, and it was rare that someone approached her during her solo practices, unless it was someone she knew. Hence she hadn't paid the figure coming her way much mind, had been so focused that she almost jumped when a voice complimented her spell. A familiar voice, although not too closely.

Pushing a strand of hair that had come loose from her ponytail out of her eyes, Dee turned towards the newcomer, then paused, surprised. Meenauh was... well, honestly, she might have been a bit of a role model for Dealla. Previously duelling captain and prefect, she was a bit older than Dee, poised, competent. Kind of exactly how Dee wanted to seem whenever she actually thought about it. But then the last school year had ended, and when the new one had begun, Meenauh hadn't returned, and her position as captain of the Gryffindor team had been succeeded by Alan. Dealla hadn't realised that she was back.

"Thanks," she replied after a short pause, cocking her head slightly, eyes curious. "Back at you." The request to be her sparring partner gave Dee a slight jolt. The two had never faced each other in a duel before, but Dealla had moderated one of Meenauh's matches last year and was well aware what the Gryffindor was capable of. Not that she doubted her own capabilities. This could be a nice challenge. Her face brightening up, an excited grin started creeping in as she accepted the offer. "Not at all, I was just thinking it would be good to have a partner. Take your time, I'm ready when you are."

Which meant she should get her hair out of the way. Using the time Meenauh spent warming up, Dee re-tied her ponytail, then rolled up her sleeves, before she finally couldn't control her curiosity anymore. Were they close enough for personal questions? Likely not, but that rarely hindered Dee's tongue. "I thought you had left the school," she admitted, her voice lilting up, making it a question. It was the little subtlety she could muster to not just flat out ask where Meenauh had been. "When did you get back?"
@Meenauh Silmataurea

"One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar."
Familiar Spaces PV Meenauh closed
Interacting with @Dealla Prince
Meenauh nodded at Dealla as she confirmed the partnership for today's session and proceeded with casting the spell all over again, minding the accuracy.

After just several seconds, her confirmed partner asked her about her absense. One the word 'left', Meenauh's gesture failed to sync with the heartskip and the spell flew above the dummy, missing it completely. She took a few breaths to stabilise the stance, and then completed her spell without answering.

Once the next spell hit the target as planned, Meenauh spoke without taking her eyes off the dummy, her had still firmly aimed at it. "I was homeschooled," she said simply and cast another spell, "The circumstances and the whole situation at the school... and last January's... event... made my parents take the decision to return me back home," she paused and cast another spell.

"I got back right after the holidays," she slowly proceeded, "but it wasn't planned," she stopped casting. She turned herself from the dummy as if from the painful trance and faced Dealla eye to eye: "I wasn't to come back," she said, "My parents planned to homeschool me until the graduation, but it seemed I am good at long-term persuasion that even my Father couldn't keep me home for long", she smiled and turned back to the dummy, "He planned to accompany me, by the way, as the Potions professor," she revealed the fact, but didn't proceed.

Another perfect spell hit the dummy, forcing the stick flying off the hand and hitting the floor. This time it seemed they were alone in the whole room as she distinctively heard the echo of the stick falling on to the cold stone.

Meenauh Silmataurea | STA: 9 | EVA: 10 | STR: 2 | WIS: 25 | ARC: 14 | ACC: 13
Familiar Spaces PV Meenauh closed
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Taking another step back, Dee started spinning her wand around her fingers, her curious eyes on the Gryffindor. Her question was not answered immediately, Dee counted another spell, two, before Meenauh spoke.

Homeschooled, huh? "That..." Dee paused, mulling it over. "Makes a surprising amount of sense, actually. I'm surprised that not more parents pull their kids out of school." Last January? It took Dee a minute to recall until she realised what event she was referring to. The train heist, yeah, that was a good reason to want your kid safe at home. She met Meenauh's eyes, expression unusually serious. "How'd you convince them? That must have been tough to pull off."

When the Gryffindor turned back to the dummy, Dee did likewise. Might as well get some more practice in. "Well... I'm glad you're back," she noted, a grin growing on her face. "Although I can't say I'm sad you missed the first stage. Didn't need the odds to be tilted in Gryffindor's favour when you were facing us. But I hope you give Slytherin a beating."

Rolling her shoulders back to straighten her stance, Dee aimed her wand once again at the dummy, feeling more relaxed than before. "Ventus," she enunciated clearly, then watched another burst of wind hit the practice target. Still only one though. Disappointing.

"You're probably not too disappointed that your dad didn't get the professor position, huh?" she asked cheerfully. "I mean, I do miss my parents sometimes, but having them here at school? Thanks but no thanks."

Tentatively, she shot Meenauh another glance from the corner of her eyes, then faced forward again and bit her lip, smiling. It was nice to see her again. And it would be cool to go toe to toe with her.
@Meenauh Silmataurea

"One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar."
Familiar Spaces PV Meenauh closed
Meenauh just smiled, agreeing to Dealla's conclusion about homeschooling.

"I didn't want to leave Hogwarts, to be honest, despite everything that happened," she shrugged, "I did understand them, but I have friends here," she faltered again, thinking of Xailah and Pericles, whom she didn't see as often as before nowadays. Was it the age? Or maybe just friendships tended to fade? She shook her head in disbelief to not go into another cycle of... whatever.

"Convince them what?" she returned to Dealla from the sorrow pit, "Ah," she smiled, "Mother couldn't stand watching my grief," she was smiling mysteriously as if she'd performed some masterful mischief, "And then, you know, logic and word trickery. We agreed, let's say, in complex wording that I'm returning to the school, disregarding whether Father gets the Potions position," she was actually satisfied with what she did, "So here I am."

"Expelliarmus!" she returned to the target with a successful disarming, "I'm not returning to real duelling just yet," she answered to Dealla's hopes on beating the Slytherins, "I'm... not ready yet. Expelliarmus!" and another disarming.

They were back on the parents' theme, which made Meenauh grinning at Dealla. She was such a nice girl. She would make an amazing Gryffindor, Meenauh thought. The way she spoke made Meenauh laugh. She wouldn't refuse to have a friend like Dealla.

"Yeah, I think it's better without him here," her answer was short, because clearly — knowing her father, and being the only child, he'd be overprotective.

"Have you warmed up yet? I wouldn't mind a short duel, maybe?"

Reducio
Inviting you, darling, for a short practice duel, slow mode. I can even roll if you wish to make it unpredictable.

Meenauh Silmataurea | STA: 9 | EVA: 10 | STR: 2 | WIS: 25 | ARC: 14 | ACC: 13
Familiar Spaces PV Meenauh closed
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"Yeah, I get that, too," Dee replied softly. If her parents tried to pull her out of school, no matter how justified it was, considering her past adventures, she'd throw a fit. Possibly run away. Perhaps her sense of self-preservation didn't work quite as well as she'd always thought.

Meenauh's explanation for how she had managed to convince her parents to let her come back was in equal parts impressive and... kind of funny. "So... you got them on a technicality?" Dealla asked, amused. "What, are your parents lawyers or something?" She tried to imagine how her parents would react if she tried to reason that technically her father not getting the job hadn't been a condition, and could just imagine her mother's flat expression. No way she would have gotten away with that.

"Oh." Dee's face fell a little. Meenauh was a strong duellist, and she needed Gryffindor to hold their ground against Slytherin if she wanted any shot at Ravenclaw winning the championship this year after they had wiped the floor with Hufflepuff in the first stage. She also needed her own team to also wipe the floor with Hufflepuff, since they'd only managed to tie against Gryffindor, but at least that was something she could influence. "Not ready why?"

She brightened up immediately when Meenauh suggested a small practice duel. That was what she'd hoped for, if she was honest. "I've been warm since before you got here," she retorted eagerly, bouncing on her toes, then turned to pace a few steps away before whirling back around. The enthusiasm was obvious on her face, but she tried to compose herself as she resumed her stance. "Ready?" she called, waiting for confirmation, then whipped her wand into a concise movement. "Rictusempra."

Reducio
Dee casts Rictusempra - WDC 9
Wisdom: [d20 : 6] + 12 = 18
Accuracy: [d20 : 10] + 12 = 22
Evasion: [d20 : 12] + 9 = 21
Duration: [d6 : 6]
Damage: 50 + 10 x 7 = 120

Meenauh Status: 480/600, -2 Acc, -25 HP for 2 rounds
Dealla Status: 600/600

A smug smile tugged on her lips as her spell hit home, but then... there was still Meenauh's spell to contend with.

"One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar."
Familiar Spaces PV Meenauh closed
"On a technicality, yes," she kept grinning, "It's only possible when they make the rules," this sense of triumph, even though she loved her parents a lot, was something she won't let go for a while. Too much was at stake. And her parents accepted it.

It took a while to find the term 'lawyer' properly within the realm of her knowledge base, and when she did, she shook her head: "No, they are not in that field, but Father is pretty..." searching for the word, "scrupulous, so he wouldn't just say something emotionally and then take it back."

Reading Dealla's surprise that struck after finding out Meenauh wasn't joining duelling just yet, she hastened to reply: "I'm not joining this stage, because I feel I need more practice, but I'll definitely join in the last stage." She definitely will.

The invitation to a duel, sparkled Dealla and Meenauh felt like a small tornado of anticipation was going around inside her. With a smile to her acceptance she said: "Of course, you've been," and took position, greeted her opponent with all the formality. As she nodded to signal the beginning, the tornado of anticipation inside Dealla burst out in a form of a Tickling Charm. Not a very strong one, but a quick enough to hit her. She tried to wiggle away from it, but it still reached her. A long forgotten tickle started conquering her free mind as bursts of uninhibited laughing.

Still, she raised her wand to cast her spell: "Expelliarmus!"
Reducio


Round 1 End
Meenauh casts Expelliarmus - WDC 10
Wisdom: [d20 : 8] + 20 = 28
Auto-Dodge: [d20: 10] → No Auto-dodge
Accuracy: [d20 : 5] + 11 - 1 = 15
Evasion: [d20 : 13] + 13 = 26
Miss

Meenauh Status: 480/600, -2 Acc, -25 HP for 2 rounds
Dealla Status: 600/600


And it went completely another way. She definitely need to get back into shape.

It was her turn to cast again (practice rules, heh), and she went for a simple spell she used to cast as a starter: "Ventus!"

Reducio
Round 2 Start
Meenauh casts Ventus - WDC 11
Wisdom: [d20 : 14] + 20 = 34
Auto-Split: [d10: 6] → No Auto-Split
Auto-Dodge: [d20: 1] → No Auto-dodge
Accuracy: [d20 : 16] + 11 - 2 - 1= 24
Evasion: [d20 : 6] + 13 = 19
Damage: 50 + 10 × 10 = 150
Duration: [d3: 2] → 1 round
Hit

Meenauh Status: 455/600, -2 Acc, -25 HP for 1 round
Dealla Status: 450/600, -4 EVA for 1 round


This one seemed to be well-put, because probably she cast it pretty much often compared to the Disarming Charm.

Meenauh Silmataurea | STA: 9 | EVA: 10 | STR: 2 | WIS: 25 | ARC: 14 | ACC: 13
Familiar Spaces PV Meenauh closed
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Familiar anticipation spread through Dealla as the duel began, and she bounced on her feet, unable to hold the excited smile spreading on her face. There was just something special about duelling, and even if this didn't have the stakes of an official one, that didn't change the feel of it.

She barely had to twist to the side at all to dodge Meenauh's first spell, and she was getting ready to throw some friendly teasing across the field - she wasn't sure what yet, it was usually a matter of opening her mouth and listening to what came out - when the second spell came so fast after that she failed to react fast enough.

She gasped when the wind punched into her, struggling to breathe for a moment until it calmed down a little, then she huffed. Frankly, she should know better than to be overconfident at this point, but years of practice being arrogant didn't disappear that easily.

Reducio
Dee casts Ventus - WDC 11
Wisdom: [d20: 12] + 12 = 24
Auto-Split: [d10: 7], no split
Accuracy: [d20: 6] + 12 = 18
Evasion: [d20: 5] + 9 = 14
Duration: [d3: 1], 1 round
Damage: 50 + 10 × 7 = 120

Meenauh Status: 335/600, -2 Acc, -25 HP for 1 round; -4 Eva for 1 round
Dealla Status: 450/600, -4 Eva for 1 round

Round 2 End


But then, two could play that game. "Ventus," she spoke, whipping her wand in the corresponding motion, and observed with a noticeable degree of smugness how her second spell also found its target. Time to expand on that advantage. "Mucus ad Nauseam!"

Reducio
Round 3 Start

Dee casts Mucus Ad Nauseam - WDC 12
Wisdom: [d20: 3] + 12 = 15
Accuracy: [d20: 8] + 12 = 20
Evasion: [d20: 20] + 9 - 4 = 25
Miss

Meenauh Status: 310/600, -2 Acc, -25 HP for 1 round; -4 Eva for 1 round
Dealla Status: 450/600, -4 Eva for 1 round


The streak of green flashed in Meenauh's direction, but her aim was off, or maybe the older girl was just too agile despite the wind still gusting around her. Frowning, Dee rolled her wrist, then got ready for the attack that was surely coming.

"One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar."
Familiar Spaces PV Meenauh closed
For a moment Dealla seemed to be out of air, due to the Ventus, but the next moment, she cast it back and hit Meenauh quite nicely and making her trying to stand still against the gust of wind.

"Very..." she attempted to speak, "Not bad," she finally managed. There was no ego involved. She had already lost to younger students and not once. The year didn't mean anything, so to be honest. She's seen first years showing miracles at training sessions with simple spells. So it was about determination.

And boy, Dealla had that.

The next was the green spark, which Meenauh was late to recognise as the nastiest of the spells, something she (and Galton the Glorious) agreed to never cast during duels along with the fire spells.

"Oi!" she exclaimed, "Drop that one, I don't want to end up puking during a training session!" she smiled, but she meant it.

Reducio

Meenauh casts Singing Jinx - WDC 11
Wisdom: [d20: 12] + 20 = 32
Accuracy: [d20: 6] + 11 – 2 – 1 = 14
Auto-Dodge (10): [d10: 4] → No Auto-Dodge
Evasion: [d20: 17] + 13 – 4 = 26
Miss

Meenauh Status: 310/600, -2 Acc, -25 HP for 1 round; -4 Eva for 1 round
Dealla Status: 450/600, -4 Eva for 1 round

Round 3 End


"Cantis!" and the spell went way past Dealla not even attempting to go her way. Meenauh shrugged. Maybe when you don't practice certain spells, you just don't remember how to be targeted properly. Or the wand doesn't remember how to cast them properly.

She quickly restored her stance and went for another one.

Reducio

Round 4 Start
Meenauh casts Cracker Jinx - WDC 11
Wisdom: [d20: 13] + 20 = 33
Accuracy: [d20: 10] + 11 – 1 = 20
Auto-Dodge (10): [d10: 4] → No Auto-Dodge
Evasion: [d20: 10] + 13 = 23
Miss

Meenauh Status: 310/600
Dealla Status: 450/600


"Nec Divinos Crepitus!" she proclaimed. It was a nice spell to counter with a Singing Jinx, but yeah. The girl was quite evasive. What to say... very evasive. She was slick, small, gorgeous, and very quick. Dangerous, if using just one word. The tickling kept working, and it didn't help the situation in any way...

Meenauh Silmataurea | STA: 9 | EVA: 10 | STR: 2 | WIS: 25 | ARC: 14 | ACC: 13