I Want To Be Air Bud!
☽⦙ Date | 11 February, 2024 ⦙☾
☽⦙ Thread With | @Rebecca Lark ⦙☾
☽⦙ Hex Code | #810B2D ⦙☾
There were pros and cons to being a muggle born. It was something that Dori had been grappling with since they got their Hogwarts letter and someone showing up to explain what it meant. Over the years, it had become something that they thought about less. Swimming within the pros and cons like the tumultuous sea that they had trained in.⁛ ⁛ ⁛ ⁛ ⁛ ⁛ ⁛ ⁛ ⁛ ⁛
One of the pros, movies. Muggle movies. And parents that lived within nostalgia and showed Dori a combination of new Disney movies, and old ones. They constantly reminisced on Disney Channel Original Movie nights, which Dori did not get on the modern Disney channel. One of those movies, well it was a series of movies, was Air Bud. A golden retriever that could play basketball. Which was mentioned when Dori received a return letter from their parents about their new and cool form. This made Dori think- what could they do as a dog. What tricks could they teach themselves with a human brain within a dog? Luckily, they knew how to sit and lay down and roll over. Boring, elementary stuff.
This was the line of thinking that had Dori on the Quidditch Training Pitch with their Silver Arrow early one Saturday morning before other students started to trickle out to practice their own flying. They set their extra stuff like snacks and water down on the sidelines of the pitch before walking to the middle with their broom. They had worn comfy clothes for this- sweatpants and a t-shirt. They would be spending most of the time as a dog anyway, but still. The first part of the session started with the typical look-over the broom, making sure it was in good flying condition (which it always was), and taking a couple of normal human laps to warm up.
Then, it was the moment of truth. It started with Dori in dog form laying on top of the broom just trying to figure out what would be the best way to balance on it. It seemed like the best method would be to have the back paws on the broom head itself, with their front paws sort of curled around the front of the broom. The hardest part though- would be mounting it. They turned back into a human for a moment, figuring that a command in a dog bark would not work. "Up!" The familiar sensation of smooth wood met their hand, and they tried to get it to just like- stay in the air without being held, and closer to the ground. "Bestie, we're gonna try some crazy shit today. So just uh- stick with me."
It was just another second before Dori was shaking into their dog form, still not feeling super comfortable as a dog (which was a crazy sentence to say). But just a moment later, they found themselves attempting to grapple onto the broom and ultimately falling face first onto the ground on the opposite side that they were. "Boof!" A disgruntled dog noise was emitted, and Dori took that as a note about what sounds they could make now. This- was going to be hard.
For anyone that approached and watched, they would see a human set up a broom, then a dog try and jump onto it and fall. Then repeat- until someday they successfully positioned themselves onto the broom.⁛ ⁛ ⁛ ⁛ ⁛ ⁛ ⁛ ⁛ ⁛ ⁛
"I don't know whether to cry or scream or do both. It feels like I've done more than enough of both. And it feels like I haven't done enough." - Mason Deaver
Stamina 12 ∴ Evasion 12 ∴ Strength 5 ∴ Wisdom 12 ∵ ArcPower 10 ∵ Accuracy 15
Stamina 12 ∴ Evasion 12 ∴ Strength 5 ∴ Wisdom 12 ∵ ArcPower 10 ∵ Accuracy 15
I Want To Be Air Bud!
⋄ February 11th, 2024 | Quidditch Training Pitch ⋄
⋄ Interactions: @Dorion Anderson | Mentions: None ⋄
𝓦hat Bex loved most about being a beater was the finality of it. Sure, seekers got all the glory, as catching the snitch often decided the game, and regardless of the outcome definitely ended it, but beaters unarguably controlled how the pieces would ultimately fall. After all, your seeker can't catch the snitch if they're unconscious, can they? Playing beater felt high stakes, high reward, and if she had some aggression she was working out, well, didn't we all? She so often felt like she didn't have much to contribute, seeing as she was maybe the single worst witch of all time, so it was nice to feel like her destructive tendencies could be narrowed down into one singular focus that was a boon to her house.
Unfortunately, being a successful beater also made you a target. After all, your beater can't knock other children unconscious if they're unconscious, can they? Thus was the outcome of the pick-up Quidditch match the day before. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes, she supposed. Her opinion of magic was low these days, but at least it meant that her broken rib hadn't slowed her down for more than a few hours. That part wasn't so bad.
But she clearly needed more practice if it was that easy for two far less experienced beaters to knock her off her broom. So out onto the Training Pitch she went, perhaps to release a bludger and play the masochistic game of "dodge the angry metal ball that wants to end your lineage." As was usual these days, though, someone else was already utilizing the pitch. Or, well. Did dogs count as someone? Bex wasn't sure, but it also felt kind of rude to suggest otherwise. But it looked like a golden retriever had gotten ahold of someone's broom and was now laying atop it, perhaps reveling in their illicit goods.
She had a mind to go over and investigate - she was a new member of the Headliner team after all, and what more important journalism could there be than dog heists? - but before she could even take a step towards the odd scene the dog was suddenly. A human person.
"What."
Said human person (dog operative in disguise???) called the broom up, but rather than mounting it seemed to just leave it hovering there for a moment before, poof! Dog again.
"What."
Bex watched in awe and horror as the golden retriever attempted an ill-fated jump onto the broom, scrabbling at it uselessly before falling over onto the ground. They made the saddest little dog noise as they fell, which finally prompted Bex into action, and she sprinted over to the sad little furry heap that was the failed canine stunt double.
"Excuse me!" She asked, kneeling down next two the dog, feeling the damp grass slowly soak the knees of her jeans. She bit her lip and looked over the creature for injuries, but admittedly the first aid classes she'd taken with her mum mostly covered common human hiking injuries, and had left her woefully unprepared to treat "dog falling off a broom" injuries. She wasn't sure that anyone was prepared for that, actually.
"Okay, are you a dog or a person? Like, as your main role, I guess. I don't think I can take a dog to the nurse, though I guess I've never asked. Also, is this allowed? This doesn't seem like it's allowed."
She gave the dog a few moments to respond, presuming they both knew how to speak English and had anything relevant to say in said language, before she continued. "You'll have to tell me if you're hurt, I'm not sure how to tell. I guess I should have started with that, sorry. In my defense, you're a dog. Maybe. That's proper weird."
I Want To Be Air Bud!
☽⦙ Thread With | @Rebecca Lark ⦙☾
☽⦙ Hex Code | #810B2D ⦙☾
It had gotten far enough into the morning that it was a reasonable assumption that students would start roaming out onto the pitch for their own trainings. Dori was almost 100% sure no team had their training here, but they could have missed something. There was part of them that wished they could have put up a sign that said something along the lines of: 'Hi my name is Dori, I'm a new animagus. Please let me achieve my dreams without staring at me because I'll die of embarrassment. But that almost felt worse than someone stumbling upon them. However, they were so self-absorbed into succeeding that they didn't notice the baby first year approaching from a distance for her own practice.⁛ ⁛ ⁛ ⁛ ⁛ ⁛ ⁛ ⁛ ⁛ ⁛
It was a particularly frustrating circumstance that this person was coming up to. They were completely discombobulated. Their clothes were incredibly roughed up from multiple hits to the ground. Their fur was laced with grass that kicked up when they jumped and fell again. They felt like they had to be able to do it. How was it that they were going to be unsuccessful forever? They were a gosh dang wizard! This fall, maybe their hundredth, or their tenth, honestly they couldn't tell, had them fall straight onto their little doggy nose and it hurt. They let out one of those heart breaking dog whimpers, pawing at it to try and fix it. Forgetting to become a human again upon landing this time.
Dog Dori couldn't help but startle as a child landed next to them, fretting over their current condition. "Aroo?" Was the closest sound approximation they could make to 'Hello?' They watched as the girl ranted, a habit they had themselves, and placed a paw over the girl's hand to help calm her down. They nodded sagely, they completely understood the crazy wizard world. They started barking and howling in a normal speaking level. Figuring they were making perfect sense, looking at her expectantly to respond.
Learning how to be an animagus- was not like learning how to walk. There was nothing natural or inherent within them that was alighted like 'Ah yes! Here are my secret dog skills.' So... to forget that this girl could in fact not understand them and anything they were saying, and that this girl probably thought this dog was going crazy felt like it was not Dori's fault, but rather the wizarding world for allowing this spell to exist without additional spell assistance in animal translation. Truly, poor planning on the wizards.
As a dog, Dori started to shake, and they finished shaking into being a human. Like a dog shaking off the rain after being out in a storm. "You must have not met many animagi yet then, have you? Are you... first year? Second?" They couldn't help but rub their nose which was a bit red from the fall. "Sorry, I skipped- several steps of this." They held out their hand to the young girl, shaking it if allowed, before standing and brushing themselves off. "I'm Dori, Hufflepuff, 5th year. I use they/them pronouns. Uh, my main role- I suppose, is a person? Generally you could probably take me to the nurse if I'm a person, but you might need to take me to the Care of Magical Creatures professor if I'm stuck as a dog. Or perhaps the transfiguration professor? I'm not quite sure, if you get me to some adult they can help me. But I promise I'm ok."
Dori stood over their broom once more, holding out their hand and commanding it to their hand before turning to the girl, nodding their head to the broom she had in her hand. "Comet 180 is a good model, I have a silver arrow myself." They held their broom out to her, offering it up for her to look at if she liked. "What other questions did you ask- uh, is this allowed? I've never heard anyone tell me in particular that I can't be on a broom as a dog. So I belive it's not... not allowed? There's this film my parents showed me as a kid, Air Bud, where a dog ends up playing basketball and it's like a huge deal. And I was thinking- what if I could be the first animagus broom racer? I'm also not hurt, not more than a bruised ego."
They couldn't help but grin, with a softness that rounded their cheeks as they smiled. This was- one of the least weird things that Dori had seen in 5 years. One of the most normal things honestly. Because normal changed over the years for them, shifted and mutated into horrifying shadows that laid in the basement of the school, and spells that defied everything that they knew. "I promise- you'll see much weirder over time. What are you here for? Just gonna fly a couple laps?" She obviously came here to practice something. It could be an opportunity to practice for both of them. Dori, as a dog, or as a human that had played all the sports the school had to offer. Granted- they were no superstar, but they could be useful.⁛ ⁛ ⁛ ⁛ ⁛ ⁛ ⁛ ⁛ ⁛ ⁛
"I don't know whether to cry or scream or do both. It feels like I've done more than enough of both. And it feels like I haven't done enough." - Mason Deaver
Stamina 12 ∴ Evasion 12 ∴ Strength 5 ∴ Wisdom 12 ∵ ArcPower 10 ∵ Accuracy 15
Stamina 12 ∴ Evasion 12 ∴ Strength 5 ∴ Wisdom 12 ∵ ArcPower 10 ∵ Accuracy 15
I Want To Be Air Bud!
⋄ February 11th, 2024 | Quidditch Training Pitch ⋄
⋄ Interactions: @Dorion Anderson | Mentions: None ⋄
𝓣he dog appeared to have hurt its nose, which was dreadfully unfortunate. Bex couldn’t help but sympathize: the nose was at least the fourth or fifth most important part of the face. The creature made an inquisitive little “Aroo?” noise, and Bex nodded her head in sympathy. “I understand perfectly.” As she interrogated Agent Dog, it put a paw over her hand, and Bex knew in that moment that they had transcended the bounds of species into a friendship too perfect and pure to require communication through human speech. She spoke to the dog, and it howled back at her knowingly, and it was like the Rosetta Stone come again.
Suddenly the dog began to shake, and Bex had a single, horrifying moment to consider that she’d miscalculated. She’d seen the Animorphs books in school; she hadn’t read them, God no, books were for nerds, but she’d seen the very psychologically troubling covers. Maybe this dog operative wasn’t actually some cool hip dog that moonlighted as some guy, but rather like, an adult with a gun. Or a functional wand, whatever, she was still getting used to how everything worked here. After the dog shook off the imaginary water from its coat, in its place stood a human person, taller than Bex by a fair margin but still rather short by most standards, with shaved blonde hair and a soft, friendly face. Her new friend didn’t seem like an assassin for the dog guild, but Bex would be vigilant.
Bex wrinkled her nose in confusion at the first words out of the dog-human’s (Doguman? Hog?) mouth, as she had absolutely no idea what an animagus was. While she’d actually already met two of them by this point, she was entirely unaware about either of their secret double lives as agents of the Great Animal War. “Uh, no? What’s an animagi?” It shared far too many syllables with Animorphs to be a coincidence, so maybe an animagi was, like, an evil animorph. That sounded real. “I’m a first year.” Bex said, reaching her hand out to shake the other person’s thoughtlessly. Despite her conviction that the other person was a villain of some kind, she wasn’t actually taking her perceived danger of the situation at all seriously, unaware yet of what a privilege it was to approach situations ignorant and unafraid.
“I’m Bex, I’m in Ravenclaw. I use, uh, she/her pronouns? My main role is person, too. I think that’s my only role, but I’ve never actually tried. Is there like a code word you say?” Maybe it was a spell. If that was the case, though, her abysmal marks in Transfiguration led her to believe that there would be no dog broom tricks anywhere in her future. “Is that a normal thing that can happen? Getting stuck as a dog? How would I be able to tell?”
She reached her hands out eagerly for the Silver Arrow that Dori was holding out to her, snatching it in triumph before doing a quick perusal of the broom’s condition. It seemed to be very well loved and cared for, it’s brush well-trimmed and it’s handle polished with a well-practiced hand. It was harder to tell without having actually ridden the broom, but it seemed rather playful, springing out of her hands when she let her guard down and loosened her hold on it, causing her to have to scramble to catch it and keep it from looking like she’d just dropped this maybe-assassin’s very expensive broom.
“I feel like maybe they wouldn’t tell you that you that you can’t be on a broom as a dog. That one seems a little self-explanatory. Like there’s no rule that says not to eat potted plants, they just trust you not to do it. Does that make sense? I don’t think I’ve seen Air Bud, though. Is it a documentary?” Suddenly the most important question that had ever occurred to Bex in her three-days-from-twelve years of life sprung into her mind: “Do you think a dog could play Quidditch? Or, not any dog I guess, but you-dog specifically. Beater probably wouldn’t work with your little paws but I bet you’d be a great seeker.”
At Dori’s inquisition into what she was doing here at the pitch, she couldn’t help but pout a little. “I got knocked off my broom at a pick-up Quiddy game the other day. And the other team’s beaters hardly knew what they were doing, it was embarrassing. I’m Ravenclaw team’s second-string beater. So I was gonna let a bludger out to practice dodging, or something.” Hot girl stuff.