Flags and the Forest Capture the Flag Camp Clo

Defender of Team Leo

Serena made her way over to her fellow campers. Today, a small group had opted to play a game called 'Capture the Flag' after receiving permission from the Professors. She was dressed appropriately for the game in a pair of trainers, an unzipped jacket over a t-shirt and a pair of shorts. Perfect for exercise, because there sure would be a lot of running around. They were meeting at the Bonfire. It appeared a few of her fellow Prefects were up for the game, which was a bit of a relief. Together, they could help ensure the teams were safe and played the game without breaking any rules. They had been given some glowsticks and told the rules.

Without further ado, she quickly made her way over to people with matching glowsticks. Rushing up to her team, Serena started putting them on her wrist and around her neck as she had been instructed to do. "Hi, I'm Serena," She smiled and introduced herself to the group of Team Leo defenders, once she had found them. She did not know everyone but she recognised a few people. They were all wearing red glowsticks, it was kind of spooky actually. Was red not the colour of danger? 

Nodding in agreement as they spoke of the plans. The girl who Serena believed to be the Team Captain suggested a potential hiding spot. A boy agreed with the idea. "That makes sense. Somewhere that restricts their escape would be good. We can then corner them in and catch them." She agreed with the boy who spoke, whose name she did not actually know. Pausing for a moment, as she contemplated the best place to put it, "Maybe corner it somewhere...? I guess we will probably want it somewhere they could see though..." She continued, trying to remember what areas where part of which side.

They were on the East side. Having it somewhere far east might be a good idea as it would be easier to defend. Unfortunately, the attacking team also had to return to the flag if they were tagged so it couldn't be too far east. Somewhere near the middle seemed to make most sense. It would give the defenders a chance to stop invaders but not quite the attackers to run too far. "It can't be too close to the border or they could run over it before we can stop them," Serena added after Angela, who she recognised from a duel she had moderated earlier in the year had jumped in. The defenders weren't allowed to go over to the other side, she believed and the team that brought their flag over to the other side would automatically win. So it should not be too close... "If it's nearer to the border, then somewhere hidden makes sense so it's harder for them to find but our attackers can get to it easily." Serena continued.

Keeping it somewhat visible made sense too. They wanted people to try and go for it. If they could predict the moves of the attacking team, they could come up with a path to stop them. It shouldn't be too hidden but slightly covered, like the boy suggested made sense. It could not been too obvious or they would think it was a trap. But that only worked if it was within their area, not too close to the border. The defenders needed a chance to stop them, after all.

ACTION: Talking to Emma Hill, Jeronimo Khan, Angela Silverberry + other Leo Defenders.

Team Leo
Interacts: Serena Towers, Jeronimo Khan, Leo Defenders
Mentions: Virgo Attackers

Emma nodded at both the girl that had just joined and Jeronimo, who she had gotten along with magnificently. Her brown ponytail bobbed as she looked from the port-a-potties to the Great Lake. Both were great ideas, in her opinion, but her team had already agreed, so she resumed the brainstorming for her next idea.

"We should stand close, but maybe not that close, we don't want to give it away, attackers could easily figure out the flag's position, but then again defense would be stronger. Well... I overthink a lot, what do you think would be easier, I mean with one tag, they'd be sent over back to their side." The brunette gestured to the group shrugging slightly. If there was one thing she hated, it was leading, but she was extremely competitive. 

She was always like a different person when she played. No more girly, curly hair, enough though she wasn't girly at all. Her jeans had been replaced by shorts, and her shirt had been replaced by a red tank top. She had loved the color red, she liked the message it sent out. It was the cliche 'danger' color, and she liked that. Emma had owned loads of red clothing, ranging from a light pinkish color to the red, almost black color.

She turned to the group and clapped her hands together, "So settled? We'll hide them behind the port-a-potties?" So far, she was extremely happy with the group and its planning phase.

Action: Hide flag behind port-a-potty

Attacker Leo

Who knew Emma had leadership skills? The first time Aurelia had met her, the dark haired Gryffindor, Lilith had punched a Slytherin in the nose but she was returned with one herself. Emma was the Slytherin's minion. It was and odd first impression. The girl wanted a plan, however, Aurelia didn't think it would be useful having a plan. The game was simple. Get the flag, don't get caught.

It had been quite a while since Aurelia had played a the game. The first and only time she played the game was with her cousin, her younger 6 year old twin cousins. It wasn't really official and Aurelia had purposefully let them win. It wasn't going to happen now. Leo was surely going to win.

"I'm all in for suggestions, we have a few minutes to hide the flag. I want to hide it near the port-a-potty, but I feel like that'd be a bit too obvious."

The girl began to blabber.

The Leo attacker captain began giving instructions. She began asking them if she knew where the Vrigos hid their flag. Obviously, Aurelia didn't know. Bt she thought that they were wasting time discussing.

"Angela, why not we just split up and search. I think that if we charge in one go, the defenders would have a hard time tagging us. I'm going to search the therstral. " Without asking for the captains consent, the brunette spun on her heels and began to jog in the direction of the Virgo base. Enough time was wasted, they needed to take action.

Actions: move towards Virgo base (thesral bunk) to search for flag.

Interacts with Lilith Westlocke (Gothic-locks McGee), Alaska Remillae (wavyish-haired girl), Blaze Flyte (pale skinny kid), Team Leo Attackers

Edit: Realized I was on a different team after posting this - sorry about that and thank you Angela for the heads up! Please feel free to respond to the below and RP as if December got completely mixed up with what team she was on. I will join up with the proper team members next round!

Capture the Flag was not a game that December was familiar with, but it was the kind of game that she would go to any lengths to win. The only downfall was that she would have to be partnered up with other people, which was never something she preferred. Part of the reason she liked doing gymnastics so much was because while there of course was a prize for the winning team, there were many individual categories where her victory depended on her own performance alone. She didn’t have to worry about one weak link bringing the whole team down. For this event, she supposed she would have to just deal with it, though. If it came down to it, she wasn’t above carrying the team all on her own.

December joined the rest of her team to help formulate a plan. She was unsure of who died and made Gothic-locks McGee their captain, but she was not a fan so far. ”Clearly, we should be split up, but not to the point where we can’t see each other,” she said bossily. ”How many times do you see a bunch of Quidditch players all clumped together, or miles apart from each other? It just doesn’t work.” Some may think her words were harsh, but to her, they were just truthful.

Another girl from their team with dark brown, wavyish hair then gave her idea of a game plan which was really no more than an explanation of the objective of the game. December resisted the urge to facepalm. ”Okay, yeah, how about this,” she interjected loudly. ”Do whatever it takes to get to the flag and whatever you do, don’t let yourself get caught. If we all work as efficiently as possible and bring our best game, we can’t lose. Think we can manage that?” Looking around at the group of team members they had, she really wasn’t too confident they could, but they would have to try.

"OI, YOU GUARD THAT WITH YOUR LIFE, YEAH?!" she shouted in the direction of their defenders, hoping that they were at least half as competent as their attacking team. Defending was just as important, if not more so, than attacking was. "HEY, WERE YOU PLANNING ON HELPING US OUT?!" she yelled to the pale skinny boy whom she was pretty sure was on their team, but was not really interacting with them at all. She shook her head, shocked at the kind of mess she had to put up with. She would need a full spa treatment once this was all said and done. Of course the girl had no idea that she was grouping up with the opposing team instead of her own.

Interacts with Alaska Remillae, December Hale, Virgo Attackers

"It's in agreement then," Lilith nodded to Alaska, showing some knowledge of respect for her. It was a good plan, to begin with, and Lilith was glad someone voices her thoughts aloud.

A scowl took over Lilith's features as this new girl appeared. She knew the names on the list and the faces, but this girl wasn't one of them. Besides that, Lilith let her continue to talk. The more words that were said to her false team, the more embarrassed the girl would feel afterward.

"You make a good point," Lilith said slowly. "Alas, your opinions aren't really necessary. Why don't before you begin to talk as if anyone really cares you make sure who you're talking too. I'm Lilith Westlocke, Team Virgo Attacker Captain." Lilith gave her a mocking smile before turning back to her team.

"We have our plan, I hope you were all listening. We'll spit off into little groups. I'll go alone and that leaves you four to pick a partner, so we have two teams of two. I'll give you twenty minutes into the game to search for the flag. After that twenty minutes, report to the Playground. We'll then see if anyone found the flag. If someone did, we go as a group and take it. If no one did, we go out and search again for ten minutes before returning. Understood?" She shouted to her team, grinning. There was no way her team wouldn't win.

Mentions: Lilith Westlocke and Alaska Remillae
Interactions: Alaska Remillae

Amanda sat in the mess hall, fidgeting with her thumbs. She had already finished her food and was waiting to be dismissed when she heard someone call out, asking if anyone wanted to play Capture the Flag. Amanda’s hand shot up in the air. She always had loved playing Capture the Flag in P.E. The girl motioned for everyone who wanted to play to follow her outside. Amanda jumped up and jogged out of the mess hall. She spotted Alaska Remillae also heading out to play, but she couldn’t reach her to say hi. Amanda figured she’d catch her later. Amanda was placed on Team Virgo as an attacker, along with Alaska. Amanda grinned. This was the perfect time to connect some more with the other girl. The team captain was Lilith Westlocke, who immediately began strategizing.

Lilith: We need a game plan. There are five of us including myself. I'll leave it up to a vote. We can either stick together and try to find and retrieve the flag together or go into separate groups. If we stick together, it would lead to a bigger target. Separation would mean that we have less communication with each other, but it could help us find the flag quicker."

Amanda nodded. She wasn’t very good at strategizing, but her speed and endurance compensated for that. She figured she’d leave the planning to the others. She grabbed a couple glow sticks and put them on her wrists. It was a good location for them, as she could cover the light with her jacket sleeves when absolutely necessary. Then Amanda heard Alaska speak up.

Alaska: "We should definitely split up early so that we would be able to spot the flag faster. If one of us gets tagged, we have to return to our side. As soon as we get back, run back into the enemy territory and keep on searching for the flag. Once someone spots the flag, then we group up and aim for the flag.”

That plan sounded good to Amanda. Again, she wasn’t good with strategy. She walked quietly over to where Alaska was standing and whispered “Hey,” so as not to disrupt the team’s brainstorming.

Blaze had no idea what to do. It was strange as he had played the game plenty of times before. "Maybe its the pressure," he told himself in a whisper. A girl began to talk, by the way, she talked she looked very confident. If Blaze would have to guess he would say that she had played capture the flag before. This was cleared when she began to talk. She knew what she was talking about telling everyone the best things to do things that Blaze agreed would work well. He didn't say anything though he just nodded slightly listening to the girl to speak. 

Even when she began to shout she still sounded confident and it didn't feel like she was shouting because she was mad. Blaze had to say something so he opened his mouth "Yeah split up but at the same time not too far apart makes sense," he felt good being part of the team and speaking to the group made him feel as if he was more important than he really was. 

Then a girl who had said to be Lilith, Virgo team captain spoke it seemed she kinda mad at the other girl. Blaze understood why but maybe Blaze was chiller with it the Lilith was. Blaze then asked the blonde girl "So if we're splitting up... cause you know I agree we should split up, what group sizes should we use?"

Defender of Team Leo

Oliver listened in for the most part, he was a quiet boy, which really was a burden when he was getting competitive and wanted to suggest something. Every time he joined in on group activities, he always felt like he could contribute something but feared the shame of humiliation over the pride of being a benefit to the team. He cursed himself for letting the discussion go by without even able to agree, and nodded after it was all set up.

Oliver drew his wand and looked around before flicking it into the air, a small throwing spin to his head height. He went to catch it, only to miss, and his wand plummeted and lodged itself in the mud.
"Ugh.." he groaned at his foolery and knelt to pick it up. He moved over to a low hanging branch and wiped off the end on a leaf.

He looked at Serena after she had talked. She introduced herself but surely everyone here knew her. Oliver knew her. Not so long ago, his feather fell under her chair during class. He spent 10 long sweaty minutes debating whether he should ask her kindly to get it, or if he should walk up to her and lean underneath her. By the time he cleared his throat and wiped his forehead, preparing to speak to her, the bell rang and he missed out on the entire homework and notes, and also didn't even get to talk to her. He cried that night for sure, a small one compared to other nights, but in the sob variety no doubt. Oliver dreamt of being like the other boys, more relaxed, more charming. Reid... Max... Dorian... Adam... They were all so destined to be respectable and loved figures in society. Oliver felt if it was possible, he was in his way to becoming a Chocolate Frog.
He looked away from Serena. Oh God, how long was I looking at her? It wasn't even a focused stare, his eyes had blurred out as he got lost in thought. She could have spoken to him and he'd be so detached from this reality he wouldn't have heard her. He scratched his head anxiously and walked away quickly, inspecting the placement of the flag. He prodded it with a finger downwards to see if it could go in any deeper.
Oliver looked around for a place he himself could defend. He was pretty slow so he didn't want to stand too far away. Putting a finger on his chin, which really pushed deep into his soft, baby chub, he thought. Aha! I know! He smiled to himself, proud of his genius idea. Oliver opened the Port'o'Potty door and got inside, closing it till it was slightly ajar. And then, he pointed his wand out, staring through the crack in the door on the lookout.
"This is your best idea yet, Oliver!" he spoke to himself a bit too loud.

ACTION: Mention of Serena Towers and some overly handsome Hogwarts boys.

Annabelle stood her side of the line, watching as the teams gathered to discuss strategy. What she overheard sounded like chaos. Team leaders shouted announcements to their groups, students scrambled to find partners... one girl even wandered over to the wrong side. Well, this was certainly going to be interesting. Still, no amount of chaos could quell the young Prefect's spirits. It was her first big event! Sure, once the school year began there would be plenty of drama club things for her to run, but for now this was the closest she had come to being a real leader.

Ever since she had revived her letter, Anna had wanted to do something great. If a Muggle-born girl like her could be given such wonderful powers, she was certain that there was some purpose behind it. All she had heard about since coming to this place was the grand battle against evil that had taken place a generation before. Students at this very school had fought and won a fight to save the entire world. She knew in the back of her mind that it was horrible, but Annabelle longed to be involved in a grand adventure like that. Of course she would never go so far as to endanger others to feed her own dreams of glory. Real situations like that were probably absolutely terrifying... but the young dreamer could not help but wish for the chance to be a hero.

For now, she got to display her leadership skills by running a fun game for her fellow students. At least, she certainly hoped that they were having fun. She loved all of the strategy and involvement she was seeing. Anna had been tempted to tell December that she had gone over to the wrong side, but it seemed that events had played out perfectly. The Gryffindor glanced down at her watch- an old analog device that she had borrowed from her father when she first left for Hogwarts. She had wanted to bring her cute dolphin-themed digital one, but it seemed that battery-powered tech did not work within the confines of the boarding school.

It was nearly time to begin. Annabelle's eyes flicked between the watch and her fellow students. The second hand grew slowly closer to the the upright mark. She watched as the Defenders scattered to hide their flags. One more minute... The tension grew. Groups were eager to take off, to start hunting. It was amazing what competition turned people into. Though she was on neither team, even Anna felt the adrenaline building within her. As the last seconds counted down, she left out all of the built up energy in a mighty yell.

"TIME'S UP! ATTACKERS... BEGIN!"

OOC: Tomorrow I will owl the people who will need to wander toward the forest to begin our adventure. Until then, have fun playing and steer clear of the Forbidden Forest ^_^ Lucy and I will be looking around too, so make sure you hid your flag in a spot that meets the requirements!

Interacts with Annabelle Wolfe

The electricity of excitement added to the chill in the air, causing Lucy to shiver. Students were milling around and trying to decide on where to hide their flag, some of them talking loudly close to the border. The other team is going to overhear them if they keep shouting, she thought with amusement. There were a couple of glowsticks left from each team, so she copied Annabelle and put a red and blue one on both wrists as well as combining both colours for a necklace. 

At Annabelle's yell, Lucy perked up, peering into the gloom of the North side. Annabelle had assigned her this half of the camp to moderate, so she figured she'd better do her job. She knew she probably wouldn't see much from this middle boundary, but things that need actual refereeing would probably happen near the border. She absentmindedly fingered her wand, which she had tied to the belt loop of her shorts with some yarn. The whole effect looked pretty janky, but it worked when she didn't have her school robes. She hoped she didn't have to use it for anything more important than a possible light source, but you never know what will happen when there are twenty children playing an active game in the dark. The burden of sharing the responsibility of leadership started to settle on her shoulders as she imagined terrible things happening - students lighting each other on fire, students falling and hurting themselves... she shook her head, clearing these thoughts. If it happened, she would deal with it at that time. No sense worrying about it now.

She paced the border on the far side, waiting for students to appear and start making daring dodges. A small part of her felt disappointed that she couldn't participate, but she also enjoyed moderating. It was far easier to keep an eye on things and watch other people exert themselves than to do it herself. She was just glad that Annabelle had let her help out. 

"Hey, Annabelle," Lucy called, "I just thought that maybe we should see if the teams hid their flag legally. I'm going to go check West side. Make sure they didn't bury it or throw it on a roof or something." She grinned and waved at her fellow prefect and walked into the northern part of the western territory, scanning for an abundance of glowsticks that would mark their flag.

ACTIONS:

-Walks onto the West side (Team Virgo) to check to find and make sure their flag is hidden legally (not buried and is easily accesible).