Day 2 Spectator 2023/24 Stage 3

The inordinate warmth of the outdoors' summer heat had permeated inside of Hogwarts, and Aly was practically sweating by the time she made it all the way to the Duelling Club on the fourth floor, having come straight from Ravenclaw Tower. It was always a little warm in her dormitory anyway, since heat rose, so even though it was still not quite cool in the club, she appreciated the slight drop in temperature anyway. Her green eyes had noted, through windows on the way down, that it was raining out - so why was it so bedamned hot? She plucked at the neckline of her olive green blouse, which - despite being short-sleeved - was not helping with the heat, and in fact clinging to her damp skin, especially on the shoulders. Merlin. If it's this hot here, I can only imagine how bad it is back home.

If the young Ravenclaw didn't have loads to look forward to, she mightn't have dragged herself out of bed this morning, especially not after yesterday's Quidditch match, which had left her feeling sorer than usual. Seeker was a hard job, and she unused to playing it. Still, after the match, she'd managed to catch up to one of her more familiar opponents - Evelynn, one of the Gryffindor Seekers, a red-haired lioness who Aly had seen more in the last month than in the past five years, and one she'd grown to like, at that. The other girl was formal and shy, and in some ways reminded Aly of her mother, but in other ways could never have been half as terrifying as Hesper Livingston-Salinger. Evelynn had helped save Peri at the spring ball, had let Aly interview her for a Headliner article, had come to Aly's birthday party just earlier that week... needless to say, if Evelynn wanted to avoid Aly, she was doing a rather terrible job of it. As such, Aly was already beginning to consider her a new friend, and had excitedly asked Evelynn if she wanted to meet up the next morning and watch their mutual friend, Peri, in his last duel of the season together.

The fact that Evelynn had agreed to this plan was more shocking than really anything else, and as Aly arrived at the duelling club just in time to see Peri and his teammates (and opponents, who were Gryffindors, ironically enough) clamber into their positions on the stage, she quickly scanned the crowd for a shock of scarlet hair, only to be left disappointed. Her usually cheery face twisted into a frown. Oh, well. Maybe she just didn't want to come with me after all.

Still, she took up her own position, off to the side of Pericles' piste, almost directly beneath him and about as close as she could get. "Wooo! Go, Peri!" she cheered, quite loudly, hoping that her eagle friend would show those lions what for... and perhaps also hoping that a lioness of familiar face and grey eyes would slip through the nearby door just in time for the duel's start...

Date: 12 May 2024 Time: Morning slot

Interacting with: X Mentions: @Pericles Dralt, the other duellists

English | French Thoughts

It was rather funny that Mahlioz had been in three duels already and hadn't watched a single one. They really weren't sure how they'd made it on the team at all at this point, with this little experience. But there was a first time for everything. And after having been busy for bird boy's last duel, she was determined to watch this one.

And dang, was she glad she'd gotten here on time. Not even a minute after she entered the now familiar Duelling Club, the duel began. Mahlioz immediately regretted not having watched more duels, especially with older years. This was insane already. Spells she didn't even know existed were flying, things were exploding, shields were appearing... This was so cool.

The Slytherin miraculously managed to sit themselves down without banging into anything, because their eyes would not leave the piste. Pericles had cast two spells at once - how had he done that? - and one of them missed. The other one was going for someone else, but they had a shield, and the spell just richocheted, except then it did land, on the exact person the other spell had missed. Mahlioz found herself wishing she had omniculars, or a rewind button. What on earth had just happened?

It wasn't long before the bird boy was blindfolded, which Mahlioz just found unfair. He was already missing an eye - how were they allowed to blind the other one too? The second year shook their head, trying to chase away the thoughts they knew would inevitably get to them, about the eyepatch, and how they had been right there at the ball, just a couple hundred meters away, not even, and they hadn't done anything - shake. Shut up, not right now, watch the dang duel.

She wasn't sure, really, what you were supposed to do at these. People were cheering very loudly, and it was beginning to give her a headache, but she didn't really feel the need to join them. She just... watched. And tried to send magic lazers to Pericles with her eyes, in case he needed them. (It didn't work. Could people actually do that, outside of movies?)

⋖ 12/May/2024 | ENGLISH [#715380] | FRENCH [#b654a9] | OUTFIT ⋗
INTERACTIONS @Aly Salinger | MENTIONING @Pericles Dralt, @Meenauh Silmataurea, @Alan Vanes, @Galton Lansdale, @Phaedra Stavrou, @Aida Mòrsgor-Ama Ellwood

Spectating: Ravenclaw vs. Gryffindor — Match 2

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The final stage of dueling was upon them, and its team pairing promised to be a spectacle. If Evelynn had said she would be disinterested in their results, she would have been lying through her teeth. She couldn't even feign ambivalence to Miss Salinger when the brunette had spoken of the upcoming matches, never mind to herself. Taking note of others' talents had generally been a habit of the Gryffindor's, a tendency that had—in theory—strengthened during her time participating in the sport. Although she, herself, would not be climbing the steps to take a position on the dueling piste, her previous teammates would be. And so would both Pericles and Miss Stavrou. If there was any particular confrontation that would be declared the match of the year, she would wager it would be this one. Match 2: Ravenclaw vs. Gryffindor.

Unlike previous invitations, the one that had been extended to her by Ravenclaw's primary seeker following the recent quidditch match had been an easier one to swallow. Evelynn had already concluded that she would be making an appearance, both for study and curiousity. Given the public nature of the event and a lack of any sort of assigned seating, declination could just as easily have resulted in Miss Salinger choosing to take her seat right next to Evelynn's anyway. There was little point in attempting to mount a walled defense against an aerial assault. So, with a constrained upturn of her lips and a tilt of her head, she had agreed.

When the day of the duel arrived, she made her unhurried way to the dueling rooms. It hadn't been that long ago that she had been a regular member of the audience, and yet it still felt somewhat odd to be finding herself a seat among the spectators rather than preparing to climb the stairs for her own match. In a way, it was a relief. Her gaze panned the crowd as her path made its way lazily around the perimeter. Despite her lack of urgency in getting to the match early enough to secure good seats, there didn't appear to be as many other students in attendance as she might have expected. It was easy to spot the gathering of bushy brunette curls ahead. Towards the front. Nearest to the action. Evelynn released a drawn-out sigh. Never mind that they were just as likely to take accidental friendly fire being right up in the thick of it like that, but she would be near enough to see the disappointment in her ex-captains' expressions.

The match was just beginning as she stalked her way through the rows to slip into the seat next to Salinger's. "Blind-folding the blind..." she murmured, lips crimping. "How excessive..." She almost scoffed as Albinaida commented on exactly that.

Lansdale had released a well executed prong of obscuro towards the Eagles, blindfolds appearing to wrap around both Pericles and Miss Stavrou. Miss Silmataurea had raised a shield, sparing herself a bit of wind from Pericles, only to direct it back at Lansdale. In fact, it seemed the tactic here was to bring the candy king down as swiftly as possible. Not entirely unreasonable, though she would have thought the Gryffindor prefects to be the bigger threat. Which, granted, so they seemed to believe as well, hence the shield. Perhaps the birds were thinking a few steps ahead, predicting the obstruction and going for the next best thing. It was very reminiscent of Evelynn's last match. Victoria had dropped within the first few seconds after a similarly executed targeted assault. By Pericles no less.

"You really thought it was a good idea to be this near?" The redhead gave Salinger a rather skeptical side eye as multiple confringo's blasted them with a wave of less-than-desirable heat, especially with the way the girl's blouse seemed to cling to her skin. No doubt Evelynn would find herself in a similar position soon enough if the teams' strategies didn't start including some refreshing glacial wind. "Or are you hoping for a little rain from an atmospheric charm?" Sardonic notes dripped from her words as she eased back into the seat. Like it or not, she had resolved to see the match through, and to see it through next to her new acquaintance. One leg crossed over the other, hands folding over themselves upon her lap.

Just as soon as Aly took her seat underneath the piste, staring wide-eyed up at her friend and others she didn’t know, the spells began to fly with almost no warning, explosions of light from both blue and red. A gasp escaped her, without meaning to - Aly had never actually watched a duel before, not all those years her best mate had been on the duelling team (a constant regret for her, that she had never had the opportunity to see Dee in action, even though Dee had come to support her in Quidditch matches). It was - well, magical, of course, but in more ways than one. As the light arced towards people in various directions, it reminded the young Ravenclaw almost of an intricately choreographed dance, each step exactly as it was meant to be done. What magic this was.

A voice nearby startled her, the sudden presence of a body next to hers, and Aly nearly jumped out of her skin - luckily, she looked up in time to recognise a shock of scarlet curls and knowing grey eyes. Evelynn. So she showed after all. Scooting over a bit to make more room for her Gryffindor friend, she teased, “Barely made it, eh? I was beginning to think you were skipping out on me.”

Looking back to the stage, Aly was blasted with another wave of heat, though from the indoors this time and not the sun (neither that in the sky or the one who had just arrived); she groaned, plucking at the front of her blouse again in an ill-fated attempt to stay cool. “It’s my first time watching. I thought there would be, like, a barrier or something,” she groaned. “A little rain would be nice, honestly, if this blouse weren’t silk. Could ruin it, you know.”

As she and Evelynn chatted, or rather Aly chatted and her lion companion listened (or didn’t), a spell on the table hit Pericles square in his poor face, a black blindfold wrapping round his eye and obscuring what little vision he had left. Aly shot upwards out of her seat, jumping up and throwing up her arms like any fan showing ardor at a sports match. "What?? Oh, come on!" she complained loudly. “That can’t be fair!” She glanced back to Evelynn, sitting prim and proper beside her with her legs crossed - the very pinnacle of a proper lady, and everything Aly was not. “That can’t be legal, right?”

⋖ 12/May/2024 | ENGLISH [#715380] | FRENCH [#b654a9] | OUTFIT ⋗
INTERACTIONS @Aly Salinger | MENTIONING @Pericles Dralt

Spectating: Ravenclaw vs. Gryffindor — Match 2

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No response was given to the teasing expectation of Evelynn's absence. Given how she had wavered, it struck just a little too close to being correct, but the lioness had exactly zero intention of providing any such admission. So she simply held her tongue, lips pursing slightly. It lasted all of a few seconds before Salinger started plucking at her blouse again. Evelynn blinked, brow arching as gray eyes swept a dubious sideways look over her spectating companion. "How have you never..." But she didn't finish the question of incredulity, just shaking her head and returning her attention forward again. "No. There is no barrier. Obviously."

Although it clearly went without saying and required no emphasis for the matter, she flourished her hand towards the stage anyway. Rather than return to place over the other in her lap, however, it would withdraw to press knuckles against her lips as the bushy-haired girl jumped up with lamentations cast towards the duellists. Contrary to the Eagle, Evelynn had been to a duel before—many of them—both as spectator and participant, and in all such occasions, she had never seen anyone be quite so... invested. To say it took her by surprise would be an understatement.

"It certainly can..." She shot the girl a subtly reproachful look. "You shouting might not be legal...Honestly..." Nudging her chin in the direction of the newly emptied seat, she continued, "Sit down... Without his eyes, Pericles will need his ears, and he will no doubt struggle to hear anything at all over your hollering." With every intention of returning her attention fully to the match, she peered forward again. All of a breath of silence had spanned before it bounced back. "How have you never attended a duel? What of racing? Or Quidditch when you were not on the team?"

So Evelynn hadn't grown a sense of humour since they'd seen each other yesterday. That was all right - one could hardly be expected to break through the lion's stony demeanor in such record time, despite Aly's reputation for being quite a charming creature and lifelong ease of friend-making. Her companion was certainly proving to be a challenge, something from which Aly had never once in her life shied away. Another noticeable aspect of the redhead was her judgmental, condemnatory tone, as if she could not believe that one could make it to the end of one's fifth year at Hogwarts without attending a duel. Aly was slowly wanting more and more to pit Evelynn against her mother, Hesper, just out of pure curiosity, to see whose stony gaze and sharp tone would prove victorious.

"I mean, I've gone to Quidditch matches, but never found much interest in spellcasting," the Eagle muttered somewhat sheepishly as she took her seat again, properly scolded for her shouting. "Folks yell all the time at those. I didn't know how... different this place would be." She cast a dubious green glance around the room, spells flying, Pericles' blindfold coming off, lights sparkling in a rainbow of magic. It was somehow wilder than Quidditch and calmer all at once. Why were the audiences sitting so quietly, staring at the duellists? Why was no one cheering on their team, raucously screaming, on their feet, waving banners and chanting catchy chants? Aly shuddered noticeably, unable to imagine what it must be like as a duellist aboard the piste. How were they to gain any confidence from the audience if they were put on display without any support, trapped behind no barrier like freed animals at a zoo?

"My mother used to tell me I wasn't allowed to go to duels," she explained out of the corner of her mouth, eyes still locked onto the Gryffindor v. Ravenclaw matchup in front of the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw in their seats, feeling the need to explain more so that Evelynn wouldn't think her lame for never having attended a duel. Realising too late that saying her mother wouldn't let her perhaps wouldn't take her out of the 'lame' categorisation, Aly added, "'Course, I'm here anyway, obviously. Had to support Peri, you know!"

⋖ 12/May/2024 | ENGLISH [#715380] | FRENCH [#b654a9] | OUTFIT ⋗
INTERACTIONS @Aly Salinger | MENTIONING @Pericles Dralt

Spectating: Ravenclaw vs. Gryffindor — Match 2

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Evelynn could only look at Salinger with a sort of veiled bewilderment. Five years at the school, and still there were times—such as now—that she found herself taken off guard when someone spoke so dismissively about magic and spellcasting. Perhaps the awe-inspiring facet may have lost its lustre once she had acclimated to the new reality, but to be entirely disinterested was just... There was no real way to convey how she felt about that. It did, however, illustrate the vast difference in worldviews between those who had been raised in the magical world, and those who hadn't. The corner of her mouth quirked, thoughtful lines etching themselves faintly between her brows as she returned her gaze forward.

While her attention had been averted, the Ravenclaws had recovered their position. Somewhat, anyway. Pericles had pulled the blindfold from his eye, while his albino teammate had done the same for Miss Stavrou. In a well thought-out moment, the lattermost had erected a shield and Evelynn turned back towards the match just in time to see the Gryffindor's attempts to break through it falter. Fortunately for her fellow pride-mates, their spells had simply been deflected rather than rebounded back towards them and so they'd found some effect against the two fifth-years. Nevertheless, the Eagles had regained their vision and their footing and could easily swing the tide back in their favour.

Fortune did not favour them. While Vanes loosed a growing cloud of smoke to obfuscate the battleground, both Lansdale and Miss Silmataurea followed Miss Stavrou's example, conjuring shimmering shields of their own.

"Well played," Evelynn murmured with respect, nodding along as those who had only recently been her own teammates not only prevented damage to themselves, but redirected a number of empowered spells right back at the avians. "Their timing was perfect," came her quiet observation. "No doubt Miss Silmataurea anticipated that after putting Pericles and the rest on their heels, they would try to recover some ground and make a large impact."

Since this was Salinger's first duel, Evelynn could only assume she wasn't familiar with the casting ability of anyone on the piste, so opted to provide some context. "Both Pericles and Miss Stavrou—as well as Lansdale, in fact—are quite gifted in casting. They are known to be able to duplicate a spell, splitting it into two and directing each iteration to a separate target." She only wished she knew how they managed to do so. After countless attempts of her own, success of that nature had yet to be achieved. "It does seem to cause some drain on their faculties, though. I rarely see someone repeat such a feat consecutively, though it is is possible, and can instantly reverse the momentum of a duel."

"Now see what Vanes is doing there?" she nodded her head in his direction. "It may not be effective to cover them all, it is deceptively dense within that fog. You can scarcely see your own hand if you held it before your face. Not that it will deter him. He has been using that tactic for years now, he and Lansdale, and I am not quite sure what exactly it is they hone in on. Perhaps it is the sound of their opponents, or the way the vapors shift, but they can pinpoint exactly where you are as though there was no cloud at all. The same for her—" She nudged her chin towards Aida. Many had, and still did, call her irrationally paranoid, but in relentlessly pursuing security, she had attended every duel and every quidditch game prior to fifth year, detailing the spells and actions and behavioural patterns of her peers in an effort to puzzle out who was more than just human, and whose capabilities were worthy of note—for good or bad. "—which is likely why they did not target her in that strategy."

"It seems odd to me that your mother would forbid you from attending duels..." Evelynn went on, observing the match with as much outward excitement and investment as she would were they at a chess championship. In truth, it was near the same to her. "It is not as though you were raised beyond the influence of the wizarding world, so there would be no reason to shelter you. And there is much to learn from your peers: material we have yet to cover, clever applications of those spells, how to synergize approaches with others, when to push and when to fall back..." She peered at Salinger from the corner of her eye, then. "Have you never participated in a duel, then, either? We could always rectify that, if that is the case. If that would interest you."

Aly's scarlet-and-gold companion shot her an unreadable look, and the Ravenclaw quirked an eyebrow at her in response, though Evelynn was turned back to keep her attention on the duel probably before she could see Aly's confusion. What had that look been about? Her never witnessing a duel before, perhaps? Clearly, the lioness had done so, and Aly's suspicion on this was confirmed twice over by the redhead's muttered comments as the duel progressed.

The curly-haired teenager was quite sure that Slytherins were supposed to be the ones with the cunning minds for strategy, whilst most of the Gryffindors she knew rushed headlong into things with hardly a thought. Evelynn was obviously an exception, and Aly wondered for a brief moment if she'd completely hallucinated her new sort-of-friend being in the house of the brave; it wouldn't be the first time the eaglet had met someone who liked to dress outside their assigned House's colours, after all. But then she shook her head to clear it - no, Evelynn was of course a Gryffindor, for she played on that House's Quidditch team, after all. Perhaps she was just a fan of duelling.

Now, that was something Aly couldn't quite understand, at least not as much. Sure, she'd nearly joined the duelling team instead of moping shamefully back to Quidditch when she had returned to Hogwarts the year before - but she'd taken her name off of the wait-list before ever making the team, realising that throwing spells around wasn't for her. She had never been a particularly violent person, after all, no matter what her recent penchant for cheating and foulplay might have claimed. This kind of fight just seemed... well, pugnacious and brutal and cold, without much of the sporting aspect involved like there was in Quidditch or broom-racing. Where was the sweat dripping down one's brow? Where were the aching muscles, the excellent workouts?

"Er... thank you for the crash course," Aly murmured with a slight uptick to one side of her mouth and a matching low chuckle. Truly, she hadn't followed most of what Evelynn had said, but she did notice one thing, quite clearly: Evelynn's most common use of surnames to refer to her peers, with the lone exception of their mutually adored Peri. Even then, though, she called him by his full name - Pericles - which Aly was quite sure she herself hadn't done since... well, literally ever. Hadn't he introduced himself as Peri the very first time they'd met, back at the Blossom Ball in their second year, much the same way Aly always called herself Aly instead of Alyssa? Never one to keep new thoughts securely in her brain, she blurted out the realisation before she could even think it through: "You know, I've noticed you call Peri by his full name. And most people you don't even bother to call them by their first names, you just use surnames instead. Are you just... not a nickname fan? Doesn't that bother people sometimes?"

Shuddering, she muttered, low enough that she wasn't sure if Evelynn would hear, "I know I'd much prefer just being called Aly."

Maybe it was that she and Evelynn hadn't duelled. The offer of a head-to-head between the two Seekers did at least mildly pique Aly's interest - less so because it was a duel, but more so because of the fact that it was the first time Evelynn had ever willingly volunteered to spend time with her. Everything before - their interview in the Headliner office, Evelynn's presence at Aly's birthday party earlier that week, even this very audience moment right now - had been at Aly's behest, not at Evelynn's. So, not willing to let this offer slip away and let distance fester between them, not when she was so very determined to crack through the hard outer shell of the redhead beside her, Aly gave a half-hearted shrug, as if she couldn't really be bothered one way or the other, as if she was just too cool for this. "Can't say I've ever really wanted to duel, and I'm sure you'll blow me out of the water, but what the hell. Rematch for yesterday, eh? You've duelled before, then, I take it."

⋖ 12/May/2024 | ENGLISH [#715380] | FRENCH [#b654a9] | OUTFIT ⋗
INTERACTIONS @Aly Salinger | MENTIONING @Pericles Dralt, Kim Sato, Opeila Winters

Spectating: Ravenclaw vs. Gryffindor — Match 2

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Brows rose in mild surprise, eyes darting from the match to the Ravenclaw seated next to her. Whatever commentary may have continued in lieu of the ongoing duel was silenced as Salinger blurted out nothing to do with the duel or observations, but rather Evelynn's habits of addressment. Her bemusement extended all the further given the angle of that commentary. The girl made it sound as though it was an unusual thing for someone not to default to the use of nicknames, or to employ surnames at all.

"Yes, I do." There would be no denial to the claim of her use of family names. "In fact, I find it very odd that more students do not." All throughout her childhood, boarding school instructors tended to refer to students by surname, or at the very least adding the honorary of Miss prior to a first. As pupils, they were expected to follow that example, though often dropped the honorary when amongst only themselves. "That is what has always been expected," she went on with a shrug of her brow, returning her focus forward. "The use of honouraries is respectful. Employing a nickname without invitation is rude. And to be on a first-name basis is reserved for close relationships."

"Kim Sato and Opeila Seilun are the only two who seem to have taken issue with my referring to them by their surname. In the latter's case, she became a Winters, and it was simply habit to call her Seilun until I had grown accustomed to the new surname. As for Sato... They seemed to want their name to be kept secret, as though uttering it was akin to speaking of Voldemort in decades past. Which makes little sense given the sorting ceremony informs us all of everyone's legal name. Anyone who attended to watch Sato be sorted knows their name."

Evelynn glanced sidelong to Salinger again, gauging her reaction. There was more she could have said. In particular, her mind wanted to push forward with arms staunchly crossed to announce familiar names meant familiarity, something she still did not feel comfortable endorsing. Her use of surnames, while indeed sourced from a longstanding legacy of propriety, went farther than that. It was a deliberate act to erect an invisible wall of aloofness, to say without saying, keep your distance. As for Pericles, she let that particular observation go unaddressed. He had invited her to call him Peri, but she'd gone on referring to him as Mr. Dralt anyway. In fact, she wasn't even sure when she had made the switch to Pericles, and that realization gave her pause, knotting uncomfortably in her stomach.

Pushing that aside, she latched on to the acceptance of the duel, despite the seeming apathy towards the offer. "I have, yes.." Though not well. Lips pursed slightly as she looked forward yet again, brows furrowing with the direction the duel in front of them was taking now. "..as Pericles can attest. I was on the Gryffindor team for the past two years or so, and faced him on half of the occasions, it seemed. I returned to quidditch this spring, but..." A breath of self-collection, and then a placid smile was on her lips. "Duelling on the piste hardly compares to authentic combat, anyway. We could keep ours friendly enough," she assured. "Restrict the more harmful spells; determine a suitably non-destructible environment. Platforms on the lake could be interesting, with a goal to knock the other off?"