2023, Stage 2 Hufflepuff vs Gryffindor: Match 6

@Regina Miller

House Colours: Gryffindor
"Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win."

~ Sun Tzu

The boy giggled as the incantation of "Aguamenti!" subsequently caused him to be doused in water, effectively extinguishing the flames that would have caused a worse burn and would have most certainly left far worse blisters. The cloud moved from their side of the stage to the other, and Piérre sidestepped a knockback jinx that had probably been intending to take him out of the match entirely.

"Good! Yes! Keep it coming!" He encouraged the other Hufflepuff student with a beaming smile. "You've got me dead to rights! Take me down! Take me down!" There was no mockery; there was only encouragement. "I'm a hard to hit target, but you've done it before! Do it again! Do it again!"

Piérre glanced to Regina, who was seemingly ready to execute. The kid tipped his head at her curiously and then laughed a bit. "Woah woah, tiger. It's alright, Tigra-feroce! Fierce Tigress" He shrugged. "Not everything has to be about threats. Jake could really turn this around! It's never over until it's over."

The end was never the end was never the end was never the end was never the end was never...

Doing as Strategized
Calming Presence Ally: Regina Miller

Jake heard Autumn wish him luck as she fell…. It was the last thing she had said. He was gonna need it… He looked down where she had fallen. He couldn’t let his team down, could he? But the task ahead of him just seemed way too big, and as he looked across the platform, he saw Regina’s eyes fixed upon him. There was something in those eyes... eyes that reminded him of others he’d met before. Eyes like a shark or a snake. Eyes that wanted to hurt him. She had a smirk on her face, but it didn't reach her eyes. He froze for a moment as he felt those eyes piercing into him. She asked if he was afraid.

“N-no...” the boy gulped unconvincingly, cheeks reddening as he heard the hesitance in his own voice. He felt a wave of self-loathing. He was a prefect. A duel captain. He wasn’t supposed to be afraid. She said a badger was just prey to a lion. But badgers were tougher than people thought they were… they weren't what she said. They weren't prey. But why did he always feel like he was? How come some people could make him feel so small with just a look?

Piérre was a lot different from Regina. In fact, he seemed to think Jake could really beat him. Though Jake had never had anybody ASK him to beat them before. He watched Piérre with some puzzlement as he egged him on. He HAD gotten close to hitting him. He decided he liked Piérre a lot more than Regina. It was a lot more friendly dueling him at least. And like Piérre said, it was never over until it was over, right?

For a moment Jake steeled himself to try again, but the confidence boost Piérre might have given him was taken away when Jake looked up at the storm cloud that had drifted back above his head and all plans went out of his head. He tried to focus on his opponents, but his eyes wouldn’t stop looking away from that cloud. It had struck him once before... and it was back. The echoes of the pain which had begun to fade came back to him and he gripped his arm. They were running out of time. He might have frozen completely if he hadn’t heard what Regina said next. When he did, a switch flipped.

“I’m not a coward!” Jake shouted at them, clenching his fists. If he WAS a coward, which he wasn’t, then he would have run away a long time ago. He’d sure WANTED to. Didn’t they get how brave he was being just standing here? Standing across from two lions, when all he wanted to DO was quit?

But she wasn’t the first person that had called him that, and he knew it wouldn’t be the last. He was SICK of it. Maybe he WAS scared. And even now, he still didn’t know how come Professor Browne had made him a prefect when there were so many other people to choose from, or how come Hufflepuff had let him captain a dueling team when he had no idea what he was doing. But he had grown a LOT since he’d started. and he wasn’t going to give up now (Well, not with everybody watching at least)

@Piérre Marchonné @Regina Miller

Action: As Strategized

Round 9

Jake vs Regina

Reducio

Jake casts the Wind Jinx at Regina
Wisdom DC: 11
Wisdom Check: [d20:5] + 10 = 15 > 11 → Success
Auto-Miss: [d20:11] → No Auto-Miss
Accuracy Check: [d20: 12] + 13 = 25
Evasion Check: [d20: 18] + 9 = 27
25 < 27 → Miss

Regina vs Jake

Reducio

Regina cast incendio duo at Jake
Wisdom DC: 12
Wisdom Check: [d20:15] + 8 = 23 > 12 → Success
Auto-split: [d20: 16] nope
Accuracy Check: [d20: 6] + 9 = 15
Evasion Check: [d20: 2] + 15 = 17
15 < 17 → Miss

Piérre

Reducio

Piérre cast protego at self
Wisdom DC: 12
Wisdom Check: [d20:6] + 10 = 16 > 12 → Succes

Lightning

Reducio

Jake: [d20: 8] → No Hit

It seemed that the heat of the duel had disappeared at the same time Autumn was removed from the game, as nothing special happened this round. The wind jinx Jake had created, just missed its target. The same went for Regina's spell. After casting incendio duo, the student aimed for Jake but the captain managed to dodge her spell. While Jake and Regina focused on doing damage to the other player, or at least attempting to, Piérre protected himself by casting the shield charm. In the end, no spell had targeted him, so it had been a useless spell.

I N F O R M A T I O N

• You have 96 hours from the timestamp of this post to owl me, Samantha Salwis, your actions. If you do not send your actions or post within the allotted time, your action is void. There are no extensions.
• Word count minimum is 50 words, but feel free to write as many as you like. Do not hint at your actions in your post; it'll let the other team strategize against you.
• Your stats, abilities, and spells have been locked on the 26th of January. Any new spells that are added after that day cannot be used.
• For any questions, comments, or concerns I ask that you only contact me through my owls or on discord.
• And most importantly, have fun!

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[Spectator Thread Day 1]

@Regina Miller

House Colours: Gryffindor
"Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win."

~ Sun Tzu

In a precarious position as he was, and with all the ire that had been focused on him in the past, Piérre did the one thing that he was fairly confident in his ability to do; that being to cast the most defensive spell in the duelist's handbook. With a quick slash upwards, Piérre incanted; "Protego!", a bubble of silvery energy was conjured into existence about him, its surface swirling like a bubble freshly blown from a bubblemaker.

As it seemed, he didn't really need the defense; just as Regina hadn't needed the defense in the very first round of the duel. Well, start the same and end the same, he guessed. Though it was a close shave, both Regina and Jake had missed their shots. Nothing lost, nothing changed. Time was winding down, so perhaps this was the last thing they would be able to do before the match point was set.

"Beware the cowards," Piérre mused to himself aloud. "They'll go to extremes to keep themselves alive." He shot a glare at her with emerald eyes. If she knew anything about his history, she would know to call him a coward too; but the boy certainly did acknowledge that he was indeed just as much of a fool as he was a coward. "And sometimes, that's all you can ask for. A practice in self-preservation and surrender to the things you can't control."

The smallest smile. There was a prayer for that that he knew. God, grant me the courage to change the things I can, the patience to endure the things that I can't, and wisdom to tell the difference.

Carried by the winds of fate, sometimes that was all Piérre could do. All he was able to do-- the thing he could control-- was his ability to gracefully let go. To bend and never break; to flex and to never snap. One step forward, always forward; and to never stagger back. "Sticks and stones may break my bones," He sighed with a chuckle. "But you know, a crowbar would do it so much quicker." He teased the ire of his partner. If he got her angry enough, maybe she would continue having her streak of luck that she had displayed against the other Hufflepuff girl that had collapsed just a few minutes earlier.

Doing as Strategized
Calming Presence Ally: Regina Miller

Jake had stood up to Regina, at least as best he could, and he hoped none of that was ruined by the small yelp as he dived out of the way of her fire spell - Jake had had too many experiences with fire at Hogwarts...and though years had passed some memories didn't quite fade...

But shaken as he was, he stood himself back up (secretly hoping that Sam would call the duel at any moment, because TRYING to be brave was something that took everything he had). He had tried to hit Regina, let the frustration run through him, let himself throw it all into a wind jinx sent rocketing in her direction. It was easier when he was mad... But it hadn't worked. Maybe he SHOULD have aimed for Piérre. But Regina had just got him mad...mad enough that he had forgotten he was afraid of her at least a moment.

Luckily she seemed madder at Piérre than at him, and much to Jake's relief she turned her attention to the other Gryffindor boy. Being brave was a lot easier when Regina didn't LOOK at you. And if not surrendering was what made you brave, then jake was really happy he hadn't gave up. But dying trying? That couldn't be the only type of people who were brave.

"There's lots of other ways to be brave..." he said, not meaning to interrupt the other girl. He swallowed for a moment as he realized he had. "O-or... maybe more important stuff? I mean if you die trying what about...your family and your friends? Um...ya know..." he mumbled, lowering his head. What was he doing talking when he was supposed to be DUELING? Plus, Regina had been talking to Piérre which was a lot better than when she'd been talking to him.

Jake's eyes lifted once more to regard the thunder cloud above him warily, before looking back at the lions. Please could it be over now? He didn't know how much longer he could stand this before the fear took over and beat the determination. Maybe that made duels good bravery practice. If you could just be brave for a little bit eventually it stopped. Then you could just go run back to the common room. That sounded REALLY nice right about now, if he could survive....

@Piérre Marchonné @Regina Miller

Action: As Strategized

Round 10

Jake vs Pierre

Reducio

Jake casts the Wind Jinx at Pierre
Wisdom DC: 11
Wisdom Check: [d20:17] + 10 = 27 > 11 → Success
Auto-Miss: [d20:14] → No Auto-Miss
Accuracy Check: [d20: ] 6+ 13 = 19
Evasion Check: [d20: 16] + 15 = 31
25 < 27 → Miss

Regina vs Jake

Reducio

Regina cast flipendo at Jake
Wisdom DC: 9
Wisdom Check: [d20:9] + 8 = 17 > 9 → Success
Auto-Hit: [d20: 9] → No Auto-Hit
Accuracy Check: [d20: 14] + 9 = 23
Evasion Check: [d20: 8] + 15 = 23
23 = 23 → Impaired Hit
Damage: (100 + AP × 10) x 0.5 (Impaired Hit) = 100

Piérre vs Jake

Reducio

Pierre cast flipendo at Jake
Wisdom DC: 9
Wisdom Check: [d20:10] + 10 = 20 > 9 → Success
Auto-Miss: [d20: 20] → Auto-Miss

Lightning

Reducio

Jake: [d20: 19] → Hit
Damage: 150

Samantha found the chatter of the duelists quite entertaining but decided to keep herself out of it, as she didn't want to seem biased. Despite Jake being older than her, she found him quite adorable. He seemed really sweet, just not a pretty good fit for dueling. Even though the duel didn't go too well for the last standing badger, he tried to do some damage to his opponent. Wand aimed at Piérre, he cast the wind jinx. Sadly, his aim wasn't too good and the spell missed his target.

Both of the lions decided to go for the good old flipendo and aim at Jake. It was the last few seconds of the duel and everything counted. Despite Jake's effort to dodge the incoming attack from Regina, he failed and was hit. Luckily for him, the spell didn't hurt too bad. Piérre was another case... Somehow he completely missed his intended target. The dangerous cloud decided to end the duel with a bang, well more like a flash of lighting. It would be the second and last time in this duel the Hufflepuff was hit by lightning. Samantha took pity on him, he hadn't been a fan of the storm cloud from the start.

"Wands down!" the captain yelled before she mad her way up the stage. "Gryffindor won."

I N F O R M A T I O N

• This was the last mod post of this duel, feel free to write an exit post if you want to. I will lock this thread in 2 weeks.
• It was lovely to be your mod and I hope you guys had fun as well.
• For the stat point link to the post below.
• For any questions, comments, or concerns I ask that you contact me through my owls or on discord. If you have any feedback on me as a moderator, please let me know!

Duelling Spells

Duelling System

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[Spectator Thread Day 1]

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

@Regina Miller
@Piérre Marchonné

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

@Regina Miller & @Jake Morris

House Colours: Gryffindor
"Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win."

~ Sun Tzu

"Not all cowards surrender." Piérre nodded his head in agreement with his partner, sensing more and more of her rage at every passing second. Sometimes cowards made the best puppet-masters... "But there's a difference between cowardice and foolishness; fools end up dead."

The hissing of wind flickered past the boy as he fluttered out of the way of a Ventus. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. He would not let himself be hit again.

Regina was not a coward. Piérre knew that; he had sensed it from the beginning... but her one-minded wrath, the way that she looked down on anyone who so much as dared to look at her; she was cold, broken off, and lacking in any trait that made her appear externally human. Cruelty and meanness... and that was not the normal state of a human.

Something had happened to create this nature, something that Regina had responded to out of a state of survival like so many others... Piérre's survival hinged on his ability to be a reed swaying; flexible to bend but never break, whistling with the wind that mocked it and dampening the flames that tried to burn him away. Regina was a brilliant young oak tree, young and springy yet destined to fall when her bark became too tough and inflexible for the winds to pass by. "Those who die trying are remembered only by those who loved them; never by the foes that they tried to defeat, the ones that hated them. Those who are the cold are left to the cold. I can only hope that I'll be remembered when I die, and if not... then I am fine with becoming what I came from: Nothing." Green eyes appeared hollow for only a second as he remembered these things with quiet knowledge in his heart; perhaps he would never know, but perhaps it was for the best. Like a reed, he swayed. "The winds do not harm us. We bow before them and so we do not break."

The chill from those thoughts and Regina's rage threw away Piérre's aim of "Flipendo!" as a crack of lightning struck Jake one more time. Even before the 'smoke' would clear, the winners would become clear; even as torn up and broken as Piérre was, he was still standing with his partner, and Jake stood alone. Jake, the boy who kept standing, who was truly brave enough to keep going. Perhaps he was more brave than he thought; his kindness only bolstering the inner strength that was always there... There were no more reasons for the Jester to stay here any longer.

Which was why when the Ravenclaw moderator would announce the winners, all that was in the place where Piérre had once been standing was a small puddle of water from his water-making spell, and a trail of droplets that led into the crowd and were now lost in it. The silver cat that had been watching from the sidelines had vanished as well.

Magician and familiar gone again with only the silent reverberations of his words left to the air being the only marks of his former presence. The curious fool was now once again a part of the people he found his home, a vanishing act most impressive indeed...

Piérre Vanishes from the Duel (Cat's Grace Ability)