Closed It all started with a kinda stupid game

Valentin was always watching. It was the seeker’s gift, to see clearly and understand well enough to predict. With the summer championship only three months away, the pressure to find a reliable second-string seeker kept growing in Valentin’s mind. Who could he choose that they could rely on? He wanted someone young who hadn’t already gotten their mindset stuck in a rut, someone playful enough to try crazy things with him and push the boundaries of known gameplay.

— Can't you be serious, just ONE day?
— But this is serious. This is my training as a future seeker.

The sound was music to Valentin’s ears. A would-be seeker, and perhaps one open-minded enough to work with him? The girl’s voice was young, and as the captain rounded the corner, he caught sight of the Norwegian girl having a go at catching pellets.

“A future seeker, eh?” chimed Valentin’s voice with a musical tone. “If that’s what you’re after, let’s see what you’ve got. As your first task, tell me why you would make a good seeker… Astrid Olsen.” Indeed, the captain knew who she was. Valentin made a habit of studying everyone around him and checking the matriculation rosters for potential recruits. He didn’t know much about the girl, but he knew enough to know to keep watching.

“...And while you’re at it, why do you want to be a seeker, anyway?” Valentin stepped forward with a slight swagger, hoping to catch her reaction to being caught by the White Immortal.

STA 8 - EVA 13 - STR 2 - WIS 15 - ARC 1 - ACC 15
Keen Eye, Evasive Maneuvers, Charmer, Fearless
@Anastasia Varney

— A future seeker, eh? If that’s what you’re after, let’s see what you’ve got. As your first task, tell me why you would make a good seeker… Astrid Olsen. And while you’re at it, why do you want to be a seeker, anyway?
─────Astrid widened her eyes as she recognised the person who was talking to her. Valentin Schnell, the captain of the Durmstrang Quidditch team, had come to speak to her and he knew her name! The girl did what she could not to show how excited she was and saw, from the corner of her eye, her friend smiling with both thumbs up.
— I don't know. I think it's so cool to fly on a broom. And I think I have pretty good reflexes. And I love Quidditch. It's not very original but I love the sport. The only negative point is that it hurts to get a bludger in the head. But it adds some fun so it's cool. That wasn't the point. No, I think I would make a good seeker because I consider myself pretty good at catching paper balls that are about the size of a golden snitch while there are plenty of people walking around. By the way, how do you know my name? I don't think I'm that famous here?
─────Astrid had said all that in one breath. Not because she was nervous and wanted to get it all out at once, as it happened. But because when she was asked about it, she could talk for a very long time and say things that didn't have much to do with Quidditch. The girl thought she was really quite good at catching pellets. And the fact that Valentin Schnell noticed her and knew her name reinforced this idea.

“Hmm...” Val considered Astrid’s words. She was right, wasn’t she? Wasn’t all that was needed to be great at quidditch was a love for the game and a bit of skill?

“I know you because I watch. I watch everyone, all the time. Forever I am looking for the right one to succeed me as seeker because I won’t be here forever. Someone has to carry the torch for Durmstrang, both when I fall on the field and when I am gone. It’s good that you’re fine with taking a bludger in the head, and it’s good to have skill at catching paper balls. You must understand, though, that there is a lot of pressure out in the real game. The fans and your team mates and total strangers all watching you, expecting you, to perform under pressure. Do you think you can do that? Would you enjoy that, having the weight of the world on you as they all watch, wanting, needing you to take the snitch for them?” Valentin smiled as he cast his gaze down. “Could you carry on even when everything around you has come apart and you’re the only one in the sky but still have to clutch victory from the claws of defeat? Or… would you really just like to live out a normal childhood, tossing balls with your sister?” The captain nodded to Viktoria, acknowledging that he knew of her as well.

“Could you still love the game even if you fail time after time after time while countless people are forever watching?”

STA 8 - EVA 13 - STR 2 - WIS 15 - ARC 1 - ACC 15
Keen Eye, Evasive Maneuvers, Charmer, Fearless
@Anastasia Varney

— I know you because I watch. I watch everyone, all the time. Forever I am looking for the right one to succeed me as seeker because I won’t be here forever. Someone has to carry the torch for Durmstrang, both when I fall on the field and when I am gone. It’s good that you’re fine with taking a bludger in the head, and it’s good to have skill at catching paper balls. You must understand, though, that there is a lot of pressure out in the real game. The fans and your team mates and total strangers all watching you, expecting you, to perform under pressure. Do you think you can do that? Would you enjoy that, having the weight of the world on you as they all watch, wanting, needing you to take the snitch for them. Could you carry on even when everything around you has come apart and you’re the only one in the sky but still have to clutch victory from the claws of defeat? Or… would you really just like to live out a normal childhood, tossing balls with your sister?
Could you still love the game even if you fail time after time after time while countless people are forever watching?
─────Astrid was super attentive and concentrated during all Valentin's speech but could not refrain from smiling at the mention of her sister.
— The day Viktoria and I make passes at each other is the day I've brainwashed her. Unfortunately, I don't know how to do that yet, but that's not the point. I must admit, I've never had to carry any real pressure, except when we do competitions with my cousins and lots of people in the family really want me to win, but that's not the point either. As I didn't remember all the questions, I'll answer them in no particular order. No, I'm not sure I'll still enjoy Quidditch if I lose every game but only if it's for three years in a row and I don't think that's going to happen. Yeah, I think I can handle a lot of fan pressure, I'll just ignore them. Yep, I'm pretty sure I can stand alone in the sky, even with a broken arm from a bludger, looking for the Golden Snitch. And technically, it's all about me and the Golden Snitch, not the fans. Although, obviously, I would appreciate some applause when I catch the snitch. I think I've answered all your questions. But I'm not sure. Did I?
─────Astrid thought that she was perhaps a bit insolent with Valentin. But he was a student, like her. Even if he would be the one to potentially get her on the Quidditch team.

“Well then, If after all that, you really want to try your hand at being a seeker… let’s put you to the test. I want you at the pitch, ready to go, at 6am tomorrow for a TRY-OUT.” Valentin observed carefully to see what kind of reaction Astrid would have. Overcome with glee at the possibility? Disgusted that it was only to be a try-out rather than adding her on the spot? Loathing the early hour to the exclusion of all else?

“I run a tight ship and I don’t keep people on the team if they start giving too many excuses. This is Durmstrang, both off the pitch and on it. If it does work out, I hope you’re ready for the pain. To be a seeker is to be a permanent target, and to necessarily be broken time and time again. If we let you on the team, it’s best to form a good relationship with the hospital staff from the get-go. We are already a repeating burden on them, and all in the name of ‘fun.’ Does all of this sound fun to you?”

Captain Frost put his hands on his hips and cocked his head to the side with a smile. It was important to make expectations known right off the bat, but he couldn’t help but enjoy the vicarious feeling of wonder at actually having a shot at becoming a seeker. Inside, he was still the little boy who wanted to chase the gold spark into the sky forever.

STA 8 - EVA 13 - STR 2 - WIS 15 - ARC 1 - ACC 15
Keen Eye, Evasive Maneuvers, Charmer, Fearless
@Anastasia Varney

─────— Well then, If after all that, you really want to try your hand at being a seeker… let’s put you to the test. I want you at the pitch, ready to go, at 6am tomorrow for a TRY-OUT.
─────Astrid immediately understood that these last words were a test. It was perfectly logical to do a try-out. But Valentin's tone and look proved that he especially wanted to see her reaction. A reaction which could only be positive because the girl found it just incredible to talk with Valentin Schnell, so to try out for the Quidditch team...
─────— Okay, 6am. I'll be there.
─────— I run a tight ship and I don’t keep people on the team if they start giving too many excuses. This is Durmstrang, both off the pitch and on it. If it does work out, I hope you’re ready for the pain. To be a seeker is to be a permanent target, and to necessarily be broken time and time again. If we let you on the team, it’s best to form a good relationship with the hospital staff from the get-go. We are already a repeating burden on them, and all in the name of ‘fun.’ Does all of this sound fun to you?
─────— You can even tell me to come at 4am for a three-hour practice in the hail, I'll be there no problem, unless I'm dying. As for the permanent target, I can handle it. And I'll drop by the infirmary tomorrow to make the introductions.
─────It was sincere, Astrid would do whatever it took to get into the team, and she would do whatever it took to stay there. She was more than motivated and if she had to climb on a broom with a broken leg in the rain and catch the golden snitch for Valentin to take her on the team, she would do it. Viktoria was a dancer, and as she always said "it's all in the head, if you don't have the mentality it doesn't work". If she put her mind to it, she could do it.

Astrid nonchalantly agreed to Valentin’s terms. Of course it was simple to accept even the ominous descriptions the captain laid out for her in the beginning. How would she feel about them after a month, or ten, or three years? Did she really have it in her to go through the captains’ gruelling regimens even when it was dark and snowing and easier to be in bed rather than fighting the biting frost of a frigid broomstick? Even in Durmstrang, the school of tryhards, he could only accept an elite few. With a smirk, Valentin shook his head. There was only one way to find out, putting her through her paces and seeing what shook out. The captain was particularly careful about choosing a successor to his own seeker position, so he sure as hell wasn’t about to go easy on her.

“Good to hear. I just hope that you will actually continue enjoying it on those days when it feels like the snitch will always be out of reach…” Turning his head as he began to pull away, Valentin continued in a low whisper. “Behind all the glamour lay ten thousand days of repetition and failure… I wonder, can you really enjoy that kind of consistent pain, or is the rare day of victory really so worth it to you?”

As Valentin’s eyes lit upon the peak of the distant arch leading outside, he couldn’t help but see the blue eyes of his co-captain flicker through his mind’s eye.

“Maybe you will. I love every moment of this – every missed grab, every crash, and every solitary hour in the sky. To finally take what I want into my grasp… well, what a sublime blessing that would be, topping off my already golden dunes of moments spilt from the hourglass… Ha ha ha ha…” Then, with a spiralling wave of his hand, Valentin walked away.

“See you tomorrow.”

STA 8 - EVA 13 - STR 2 - WIS 15 - ARC 1 - ACC 15
Keen Eye, Evasive Maneuvers, Charmer, Fearless
@Anastasia Varney
Leaving thread unless stopped.