Shuntbumps S.W.A.G

Mentioning @Xailah Alptraum, @Ruby Cazares, @Flash Holmwood

The slowing spell rippled over him like a tangible wave of relief. Where there had been whipping wind, howling in his ears and stinging his skin, now there was but a blissful descent. Pericles' fall was phantasmal. He drifted downward, boots beneath him once more, arms splayed as a single lock of hair wiggled in the wind. The young wizard finally drew air again, breathing deep then loosing a slow sigh of rattled contentment. His bond with his wand was true. That masterpiece of aspen and phoenix feather had never betrayed him, even though he'd lost it once that night, something he knew better than to take for granted. It was cradled affectionately in both hands til he landed, safe and secure on the ground.

Wand arm dropping to his side, heart rate working to return to its regular rhythm, Peri used his fingers to comb back his hair before pushing the goggles up onto his forehead. It was never fun to lose, but at least he'd managed to do so without breaking any bones or being seriously injured. Ah, and look what the cat carried in! It came as a small surprise to see Xailah carrying Flash to safety. Though he didn't know the boy all too well, the little lioness had just been warning the prefects of his propensity to spy on their sort. That accomplished smile wavered, then returned in the form of a crooked grin. He knew she was sweeter than she allowed others to believe. "Excellent catch, Xai!" Peri called, cupping his mouth to send his voice further. "Now hurry off and win, won't you? Let us on the ground mind the disqualified instead." He waggled his wand in emphasis. Speaking of....

"Ruby?" She had fallen, but not far, and at least landed on spongified ground. Peri could worry about figuring out where his sweet Silver Arrow drifted off to later. His first priority was to check in on the snake, who he would offer a hand-up to before relieving her of any stray grass sticking to her hair. They could be ground guards together, he explained.

Action: Cheering on Xailah, checking on Ruby, prepared to Arresto Momentum fallers.

Open to interactions!
Interacting with: @Serena Towers
Mentioning: @Alan Vanes | @Xailah Alptraum

The playing field had thinned substantially and Ana was left with three possible targets. Alan, who she liked well enough from fairly limited experiences and being on the Quidditch team together, Serena, who she also thought fairly well of, and the Gryffindor prefect whose name she couldn't recall at the moment. She felt annoyed at herself for failing to do anything to help any of her falling friends, but she forced herself to focus on the task at hand. She had all the time in the world for self-loathing after she finished winning this game.

Biting her lip, she tried to make a decision about her target. To the extent she still had allies in the game, she considered Alan one. That eliminated him as a possible target until it came down to the two of them. Perhaps that was a lapse in strategy, considering how few players were left, but she supposed she'd have to find out. The prefect appeared to have a gripping charm in effect, so Ana was disinclined to waste an attack on her when the game was so close to being won. By the process of elimination, that left Serena. She preferred casting at someone she already knew anyway, as knocking someone off their broom was hardly the basis for a positive relationship.

"Flipendo!" she said once her target was selected, flicking her wand sharply. She was definitely ready for this game to wrap up, or more accurately, to win this game.

For Moderation:
Action: Flipendo Serena
Health: 471/800

Reducio

Broom: Silver Arrow (+3 to all stats)
Abilities: Lovely Creature | Fearless | Terrible Presence
Stats: Stamina 5 (8) | Evasion 10 (13) | Strength 5(8) | Wisdom 9(12) | Arcane Power 10(13) | Accuracy 6 (9)

The softening charm siphoned itself from the chestnut wand, and spread across the earth below Flash. It steeped into the hardened soil; softening Flash's landing by a great deal. A physical blow would be eased, but a metaphorical one would not. The figurative ones always had a habit of hurting the most. Xailah watched Flash for a moment, before scanning the ground for others who had fallen victim to the stiff winds. She would easily find Pericles- in her quiet panic she had spied him trying to slow his own fall. Birds were funny little things. Seeing that he appeared to drift, like a little feather, towards the Terra; it was safe to assume that his spell had been a success. He was fine. But what of Ruby? The little snakelet had landed not too far from where the bird had. Xailah could only assume the girls fall had not been broken- she wasn't too sure about how much ground the Spongify had covered. She could only hope that the Slytherin had fallen in some of the affected area.

The metamorph mentally kicked herself for going out of her way to break Flash's fall, instead of Ruby's. It was a horrible thought truly, but picking a stranger over a friend- she couldn't help but feel regret. But, she had all the time after the game to cry in her dormitory about it. Pericles called up, commenting on her catch, before telling her to go win the game. He, and Ruby would take care of the rest that were to fall. "Consider it done!" She called with downcast eyes. If she couldn't win with them, the least she could do was win for them. The corners of her mouth instinctively curled upwards at his playful chiding, and wave of aspen wand. However she was in no rush to jump back into the game. She would watch the tiny figures of her friends below. The white wizard, would walk over to the little Slytherin, to help her up, and groom the grass out of her dark waves. "Ruby dear, are you alright?" Xailah waved down towards the girl. Her metallic gaze would linger for a while longer, before returning her attention back to the game.

The herd had been thinned substantially. Only three players- well, four counting the catty Gryffindor- had managed to remain aloft. Could they continue to stay in the sky for the remainder of the game? Only time, and the loyalty of their wands would tell! Xailah looked to each face that remained. Picking a target was something of a challenge now. The lion that floated above the rest of the players, would have been the easiest target- probably the best when taking strategy into account. However, that same lion had helped her. There was a quiet sort of kinship between both Gryffindors, one that only their kind could detect. This inclined Xailah to spare him. For now anyways. That left two other students- a freakishly small Hufflepuff, and an infamous Gryffindor. The Hufflepuff would have been another excellent target, since she appeared to be remarkably fast. Having multiple people trying to get her off of her broom, would certainly ensure her elimination. A clever tactic, as well as an incredibly boring one. Xailah wanted to play now- that haughty lioness looked like fun.

She had no idea how but she managed to successfully catch and lower Willow down to the ground. Looking up to the skies, she quickly repositioned herself, leaning forward and shooting off back to the skies to get a better view of the opponents. She could hear the cheers of someone, supporting one of the opponents. It bought a smile to her face, in all honesty. There was something so sweet about that. Of course, the cheers were not for her but she also didn't really know that many people in the club. Perhaps this was a good opportunity to get to know them better.

Turning her attention to the three remaining fliers she could see in the skies, she noticed that she was more familiar with two of them. Anastasia was someone she knew through her family. She also knew that the Gryffindor was a big fan of quidditch. The other was Alan, the boy who dropped her pizza. He was also a Gryf- wait... It dawned on her that most of them were Gryffindors, if not all of them. Wow. How did that happen. She felt a little outnumbered, that was for sure.

She did not know the third opponent all that well but Serena was pretty sure that she was a prefect of the lion house. Looking at her options, she gripped her wand and moved through the skies. Honestly, it was obvious that it was time to start getting people out of the game and ending this. She had no idea how she was still in it but since most people were out, it would likely end soon. A simple flipendo would do the trick rather nicely.

But she could not do it. Being on the receiving end of attacks whilst on a broom was not fun. Flying off and hitting the ground from a height in the air was not pleasant. She had felt that too many times. She could not - no, she would not do it to someone. This would likely be her downfall. She had no doubt that she would lose because of this but that did not matter. It was much nicer to lose than to win after doing something she did not want to do. A plan formed in her mind. Something to help get someone would but without knocking them off the broom. It was the best option she could come up with on such short time.

Serena attempted to fly above someone, trying to position herself at a height before aiming down at them, "Ventus!" She would call, hoping that the gust of wind would be strong enough to push them down enough to the ground without it being at such high speeds or knocking them off their broom entirely. Of course, she had no idea if it would work but she attempted it nonetheless. If she could force them to go lower, the fall would be less painful anyway. It seemed like this might be a good idea.

Stamina: 10 | Evasion: 13 | Strength: 4 | Wisdom: 14 | Arcane Power: 7 | Accuracy: 13
Silver Arrow: +3 to every stat [added above for ease]
Abilities: Part-Goblin [Gobbledegook and Wandless] and Evasive Maneuvers

ACTION: Cast Ventus at random target [Alan, Anastasia or Xailah]

With a twist of his head he would watch as a bunch of students would fall towards the ground, cringing slightly as he noticed how some of them would hit the ground rather abruptly and possibly painfully. He truly hoped that the bunch of them was not hurt too much. Only then he would also notice how few of them were left and he bit his lip slightly. He knew which spell would put an early end to anyone's attempt to hold onto their broom but he did not consider the spell quite fair and decided therefore to not use it against any of the other students. "Rictusempra!" he would cast at one of the students that would down below him, yet still in the air. He was excited and curious to see who of the four of them would win this in the end. He also watched some of the other students cast their spell and he could not help the excitement rushing through his veins. He did however think that the tickling charm was a well chosen option for a spell to cast as it was not too aggressive but effective nonetheless. He would just have to see whether he would hit someone with it too!

Action: Tickling Charm at random person

M O D E R A T I O N

Ana vs Serena

Reducio

Spell: Flipendo (DC 11)
Wisdom Roll: 16 (4+12)
Auto Dodge: 5 / fail
Accuracy Ana: 27 (18+9)
Evasion Serena: 28 (15+13)

Ana like the proud Gryffindor she was would go for the lone Huffle that was left and would attempt to hit her with one of her Flipendo's. However in the last moment Serena would be able to just barely dodge out of the way of the spell as the spell would rush into the nothing instead.

Xailah vs Ana

Reducio

Spell: Singing Jinx (DC 13)
Wisdom Roll: 12 (2+10)
Crit Fail: Effect is applied to self
-
Duration Roll: 1d6 (1) -> 1 round

Xailah would go for Ana instead but there was just something about that girl and as she would cast the spell, there was this weird blockage in her head, a sense of hesitation. This was all it took for the spell to backfire, certainty was key after all and within seconds the young metamorph would burst out singing the school's hymn.

Serena vs Xailah

Reducio

Spell: Ventus (DC 13)
Wisdom Roll: 26 (12+14)
Auto Miss: 7 / fail
Auto Split: 9 / fail
Auto Dodge Xai: 10 / success

Despite singing the Hogwarts song with full lung, the metamorph still had enough senses to dive out of the way of the spell fired at her. Be it instinct or luck, but Serena's spell would miss the metamorph and instead disappear into nothingness.

Alan vs Ana

Reducio

Spell: Tickling Charm (DC 11)
Wisdom: 28 (20+8) CRIT
Auto Miss: 3 / fail
Accuracy Alan: 19 (10+9)
Evasion Ana: 16 (13+3)
-
Damage: (100 + 14 x 10) x 0.9 = 216
Effect: The target suffers –2 Accuracy and losing 25 HP per round
Duration: 3 rounds
-
Ana Health: 471 - 216 = 255

It could not have been anything but luck, but in that moment Alan did not really care, he could just be amazed by how powerful the spell he cast must have been as it shot from his wand and hit Ana right between her shoulder blades. The girl would not know what hit her, well she would figure it out, since she was forced to laugh uncontrollably. It was no comfortable laugh, it was rather painful as her ribs would contract as her breath accelerated with the continuous laughter.

Status:
Ana: 255 HP
Xailah: 1500 HP
Serena: 1000 HP
Alan: 1320 HP

It would seem that her wand wanted to play as well. Betrayal looked to be its idea of fun. Flighty little thing- just like its mistress. "Cantis!" The Gryffindor commanded. the cast would be a weak one. Her splinter of chestnut wood, would detect a hint of subtle hesitance. A hazy, pink light shot down the hilt of her wand. Wait, what? The light wasn't supposed to go towards its wielder. Xailahs lips peeled back into a grimace, understanding what was to happen next. The ray of pink light vibrated through her body, before finding a place somewhere in her chest cavity to rest. A soft vibrato was summoned out of her throat, and she would begin to sing. Somehow the spell managed to retrieve a song that had been pushed into the deepest recesses of the metamorphs mind- Hogwarts very own hymn. A student attending Hogwarts, was bound to hear the dreadful tune at least once, during their stay. Some students knew it by heart. Xailah admittedly hardly knew the song at all. Whenever the students were called to stand and sing, Xailah would zone out. If anything, the song was a reminder of everything she could not stand about Hogwarts.

Apparently she was capable of recalling more of the song, than she originally thought she knew. "Hogwarts, Hogwarts, hoggy-" A clothed hand clasped over her mouth, muffling the impromptu performance; in an attempt to maintain what little dignity she still clung on to. She could feel her lips moving, and the pulsations of a voice that refused to be quieted, from underneath her hand. Well this was incredibly inconvenient, and distracting. Luckily it wasn't too distracting, for her at least. A spell had been sent the prefects way, whilst she belted out the muffled Hogwarts hymn. She still had enough focus to move out of the way. That meant she still had just enough to cast. Successfully? Without another backfire? Unlikely. It was worth a shot though. The Gryffindor would wait for a pause in her song- a moment where she could interject.

The spell failed, despite her very best efforts. It appeared that the remaining students were fast enough to dodge it. She had no idea what else to do. There was nothing else she could do. She refused to flipendo someone off their broom and that wouldn't change simply because she was losing. Of course, that was the only way to really ensure a win. Serena had no idea why she was still in this game - or how. But she refused to be that person.

So she did what she could and tried again. Her target had been one of the other fourth years. She did not really know her opponent well but she had seen Xailah around the school, in classes or when the latter was doing her prefect duties. It seemed a little unfair to pick her again but since the target seemed rather good at flying and appeared to be evasive, Serena figured it would be fine. Her spell would most likely miss again but that was fine. She simply had to get better. This was good practice, that was all it really was.

Gripping her wand once more, "Ventus!" She cast again, trying to fly above her target and push the broom down, lowering it to the ground once more. This was her only tactic and choice. It was repetitive and boring but what else could she really do?

Stamina: 10 | Evasion: 13 | Strength: 4 | Wisdom: 14 | Arcane Power: 7 | Accuracy: 13
Silver Arrow: +3 to every stat [added above for ease]
Abilities: Part-Goblin [Gobbledegook and Wandless] and Evasive Maneuvers

ACTION: Cast Ventus at Xailah

Open to interactions!
Interacting with: @Serena Towers
Mentioning: @Alan Vanes | @Xailah Alptraum

The Gryffindor was nothing if not stubborn. Some people might have considered pursuing a single target repeatedly and failing repeatedly a bad strategy. To be perfectly honest, it probably was. Still, Ana had committed to yeeting Serena, so yeet Serena she would. While she was normally incredibly competitive, even for the smallest things, she was at peace with whatever ended up happening in this particular game. She'd already done what she had come there to do - hurl spells at Scarlett and knock her off her broom without the threat of detention. Anything else that might happen was a bonus.

Chewing her bottom lip, she scanned the field for her target. It was relatively easy, considering the fact that there were only two non-targets in her way. Inhaling sharply, she pivoted her broom and committed to her attack. This was easy. A spell she'd cast for years.

"Flipendo!" she shouted for what felt like the millionth time. Her wand flicked and she watched to see if her attack would hit. Idly, she contemplated how Quidditch would be played if wands were allowed. That would be a sight to behold. Probably even more dangerous than normal Quidditch, but more dangerous almost always means more fun, right? Then again, considering how sore she already was after Quidditch practices, spells might not be the best idea. What if each Quidditch player borrowed a member of the dueling team and the two shared a broom. Now, that would be fun.

For Moderation:
Action: Flipendo at Serena
Health: 255/800

Reducio

Broom: Silver Arrow (+3 to all stats)
Abilities: Lovely Creature | Fearless | Terrible Presence
Stats: Stamina 5 (8) | Evasion 10 (13) | Strength 5(8) | Wisdom 9(12) | Arcane Power 10(13) | Accuracy 6 (9)

Alan was not known to be the smartest of tacticians but after taking a look around he noticed how few of them were still left, so he had to take actions now if he wanted a chance at winning this game and of course he wanted to win. What is the point of playing a competitive game but not having fun or doing what the game intends you to do? The Gryffindor would take a look around and saw how Ana would target the Hufflepuff girl and he could see nothing wrong with that plan, it might as well work out? So without much further though the Gryffindor would speak the incantation of the knockback jinx and aim it at the small badger, even though he knew that she was his own age and not to be underestimated. He knew her from his first year, he was sure that was when they had first met even though he had no recollection of speaking to her at that point. His memories of his first year were pretty hazy for the most part, he was not all too sure why. He shook his head, trying to focus on the spell because he really did not want it to backfire at himself because that would be quite painful.

ACTION
Flipendo Serena