Finals Spectator Thread Slytherin v Ravenclaw

[font=century gothic]OPEN TO INTERACTION[/font]

[font=century gothic]MENTIONING @Flash Holmwood, @Jorah Moussa [/font]

It seemed like it had been hardly any time at all since the last games had wrapped up, and yet three months had already come and gone since January. Evidently, this year had held far fewer emotional ups and downs compared to its counterpart in the previous year. Clearly, Evelynn attempt to keep a—relatively—low profile had succeeded. With her time occupied with practice, school work, the paper, prefect duties, she'd done well to keep out of trouble. It even seemed like there had been an unusually low prevalence of any strange happenings about the school in the last little while. Perhaps there was actually hope that she could soon consider her school somewhat normal. At least as normal as one could consider a school of witchcraft and wizardry. Or perhaps knowledge of nefarious events simply hadn't yet escaped the shadows.

As far as Evelynn was concerned, however, they could remain tucked safely away in the dark recesses of the castle. At least for now. Today, with the sky blanketed in a calm and muted grey that matched her attire, shadows were few and far between. And frankly, that suited her just fine as all of her attention would be directed wholly upon the events of this weekend. The quidditch season finale was finally upon them and one could not have asked for better weather. It was warm, but not too hot. Overcast, but not raining. Light enough to offer good visibility, but without a glaring sun to blind and glint teasingly off various golden hued accessories. She could only hope that it would prevail into tomorrow as well when she would take to the air against Hufflepuff.

Hurrying from the breakfast hall with a few choice morsels wrapped and stowed into her satchel for later nibbling, the Gryffindor seeker had attempted to make her way to the pitch ahead of the throng of students. Good seats could often be difficult to come by, and she wanted prime seats on this occasion. While she didn't hold many connections to the great majority of players on either team, the few whom she did know were rather dear to her in their own strange ways.

Flash, of course, had been her investigatory accomplice for the better part of the past year. The two hadn't shared many close connections through this year, but she continued to hold him in high regard. There weren't many in whom she could place a sense of unwavering trust. He was one of the few who broke that trend. Making her way to a seat in the front row of one of the bleachers, she made out his form picking its way to the bench. Sadly, he still was not among the first string of his team. A shame, really. She hadn't relished the idea of facing off against him in their last match, and had been fortunate enough—from her perspective—to have avoided that outcome. Even still, she longed to watch him fly. Hope lingered that he could make his true debut today.

And then there was Moussa. Evelynn still wasn't exactly sure what to make of him. He wasn't exactly a friend, but neither could she say that he wasn't. He had a strangely amiable charm that had managed to wedge its way into her otherwise calculated schedule on a few occasions. In many ways, he annoyed her. Childish and brash, there had been more than one occasion where she marveled at how the sorting hat could possibly have placed him in Ravenclaw. During their chess game, however, he had revealed a more strategic side. It had led her to question how much of his behaviour was a deliberate façade to invite others to underestimate him. Every encounter only left her all the more puzzled. As she regarded him getting into position, a coin danced between her fingers. Even now, too late to do anything about it, she deliberated if she should have given it back.

If either of the two happened to glance her way, she'd offer a wave despite knowing they might not even be able to make her out from where they were. Dropping her bag to her feet, Evelynn took mind-clearing breath and settled herself to the bench. From the satchel, she pulled her journal and opened it to the section she reserved for notes and statistics about the games and the various teams' players. Her omnioculars had been afixed with a leather strap and hung within easy reach from her neck. She was ready.

Interacting with @Evelynn Decipio
Mentioning @Nico Shymane and @Erin Ryan

Excitement flowed through his veins, coursing through his whole being to burn away all other thought and feeling save one. His love of Quidditch and one particular Dhamphir he always made sure to support. So...two things in this case. That thought didn't bother him for it was true regardless. In the large prefects usual fashion he was wearing a very colorful outfit with noticeable colors showing off who he was rooting for. The massive freckled boy drawing plenty of eyes and being very friendly as always. Helping to stoke the excitement for the game. He left a little early catching the glimpse of an unfamiliar face but one he vaguely recognized from his various patrols and other duties.

Making his way with long strides. Quinn found himself in the stands. The structure no doubt magically reinforced for folk like him. He chose to find a seat near the front mostly to account for his size. There was already someone up front to his his surprise. He relished in talking to new people and given recent events at home he could use another helpful distraction. Walking carefully to the front, he took a seat next to someone he now recognized as familiar. In comparison to the boy who looked more like a man with his full beard, slightly dis-proportioned but fairly chiseled features and stature of over 9 feet. He quite literally dwarfed her.

"Um Evelynn right?" He suddenly spoke in a rather deep but clear voice his accent held back but light. Quinn for his part was dressed appropriately for the day but also like a sports fan who got decked out for their favorite team. Before he continued to interact with her his mood momentarily shifted as he glared at one of the team members who entered the field. "So me ole foe finally shows herself. I'll get her for last time." He said almost absently eyeing Erin Ryan who had made her alluring presence known. Something Quinn constantly hated taking not of but thankfully his hatred for her had turned more into a heated rivalry on the pitch. A few more familiar faces made their way onto the field and he cheered for each one.

But then a beautiful player with scarlet red hair and blue eyes made her way onto the pitch. Causing Quinn to stand up and yell, "Let's go Nico!! You go Nico!! Show em what's what a ghrá!!" In this case he was shameless in his cheers for her. Putting up a painted sign that read "Go Nico Go!!"No doubt he embarrassed her but that didn't matter. He supported all the teams some more then others but when not on the field they all had his support. Sitting back down putting the sign down as well. His attention returned to Evelynn Decipio.

With a deep but light laugh he spoke again, "Hope I didn't ruin yer ear drums Evelynn. Ye excited for the match tomorrow? Cause I sure as heck am. Excited to see what sort of plays your team will pull tomorrow." He was friendly and bent down a bit purposefully making himself smaller for her his eyes gentle but quietly observing her patiently. "Oh where are my manners. Quinn Healy, Captain of Hufflepuff and fellow prefect!" He brightly added.

[font=century gothic]OPEN TO INTERACTION[/font]

[font=century gothic]INTERACTING WITH @Quinn Healy | MENTIONING @Jorah Moussa, @Nico Shymane, @Gabriella Haworth, @Ami Procoppio [/font]

Of course it wasn't long before other students would join Evelynn in the stands; it would have been ridiculous indeed to think others wouldn't be vying for a glimpse of the first of the last games of the season. In fact, she wouldn't have been surprised at all had she been joined by some of her teammates. Edelhardt had joined her once, and the stands were often kept entertaining with the likes of Lestrange and Ryan. Although the latter two were playing in today's game, it wasn't as though they were the only ones who drama seemed to follow like flies to wine.

Even if the rumble of the steps hadn't given her a head's up, the sound of her name spoken in a gravelly tone surely would have. With mild surprise, Evelynn diverted her gaze from the preparations and warm-up laps by players on the pitch towards the half-giant who had summoned her attention.

"Er.." Healy's request for affirmation of her name took her somewhat by surprise. Unless… perhaps when he'd called her 'Eve' at the prefect's meeting, he hadn't actually known that it wasn't her full name? "Yes," she replied after a second, concluding that he must have heard the name off someone—maybe Valentine? Piérre?—and assumed it to be acceptable. But really… he was a quidditch captain. "Evelynn, that's right. Evelynn Decipio." But really though… Did he not know the names of his competition? The corner of her mouth twitched with restrained skepticism.

Nevermind. As the half-giant turned his own focus to the players on the pitch and shouted his support, she mentally shook the surfacing judgment aside. And braced herself, brows raised reactively, to the reverberation that accompanied it. Naturally, she'd heard his pipes before. But from a distance. Here, it was as like standing next to a set of large speakers with the bass turned so high up that words could barely be made out over the thrumming reverberation.

"You're… you're fine…" She smiled politely to his apology, but appearing just a little frazzled. Then, after he'd apologized and provided introduction, added, "Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Healy." Again.

A slightly awkward expression accompanied the thinning of her lips and the tuck of a loose strand of hair behind an ear as she resettled herself in her seat and directed her gaze forward as the match set off. But as his settled on her, the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. It was unusual. For the most part, she had been glossed over in most social situations. Often, that was of her own doing—she could acknowledge that—but few sought to single her out with any sort of attention. And from those that did, the attention wasn't generally of the friendly sort. Or from those several years her elder. Or those so…big.

"Ehm.." A chuckle escaped in an exhaled breath through her nose thinking to his admission of excitement for the following day's game. The pad of her thumb rubbed subconsciously against the face of the coin clutched in one hand. "Yes, I'm rather excited." She wasn't about to admit that she was terrified. Especially not as he served as a large source of that anxiety. "I've been training with Procoppio for some time now,—" Throughout the year, the two girls had often practiced and trained together. "—so it will be interesting to finally play against her. I think we're all eager at a chance for the cup, of course."

That much was true. Even thinking of the chance to be able to loft that quidditch cup on high as a symbol of their team's hard work elicited the shadow of a smile across her lips. It really would be something. The only thing to sour that moment of levity was the notion that no doubt D'Spacito would somehow discredit that anything she had done had in any way impacted their success and take the honour for himself. Her brows furrowed at the idea, but it was soon pushed out of her thoughts as the whistle blew and green and blue suddenly set into blurred motion ahead of them.

Immediately the game grabbed at her and Evelynn found herself perked forward in her seat, enthralled by the action. And what action there was. "They're doing it again!" She remarked, more to herself, as Ravenclaw's chasers moved into formation to pincer Ryan. They'd debuted their 'new strategies' against Evelynn last match—much to her chagrin—but she couldn't deny the sense of vengeful satisfaction she felt at seeing it play out on someone else. Omniocculars popped up just in time to catch the play. "Oh, that was brilliant…" Came the breathy awe a moment later seeing just how Ryan had managed to manoeuvre herself out of it. She replayed the scene a couple of times, jotting down some specific notes for herself.

Slytherin really were taking command of the game. Soon enough, the gong had sung, announcing a goal and the associated ten points for the snakes. And then again. And again. But Evelynn's eyes weren't trained on the skilled chasers firing off against empty hoops. Instead, she had caught wind of Ryan's pursuit of a bludger, honing in on it with the thunderous crack that heralded absolute pain for someone. She tried to track the trajectory, to get ahead of the canon to see who she was aiming at. Her stomach sank. Moussa. And all of a sudden, the palmed coin felt ten pounds heavier. Luck was a construct. It wasn't real. But in this moment, on the coattails of two games that had seen him immediately removed from the roster, she couldn't help but wonder if there was something more to it.

"You said something about…" What had he said? A rival? "..something about an old foe?" Evelynn asked, glancing briefly to the side. It seemed polite to try to continue the conversation, although she did return her focus quickly to the pitch.

The thing with quidditch games was that they could progress very quickly. Look away for a second and you might miss something. Which she very nearly did! Looking back, she glanced the tell-tale alignment for an alley-oop. Her heart skipped a beat and she frantically lifted her omniocculars again in order to see who it was. Riddle was the one lining up for it, which meant Palmer must have seen the snitch. She watched him wheel around his keeper, but the absence of any conclusory announcement or obnoxious gloating meant he hadn't been successful.

The beaters, however, were having a bit better of a game. Ravenclaw seemed to have lagged behind initially, but they were catching that tailwind now. The newest member, a first year by the looks of her—Evelynn jotted down another note, a prompt to do some roster research—missed her target; but Haworth didn't. Ironwood proved agile enough to veer the bludger away from Palmer, but not quite enough to evade its new path. And the ricochet met solidly with Shymane. Evelynn chanced a glance in Healy's direction for his reaction. Given how chummy the two had been at the meeting, no doubt he'd be disappointed by that.

"A shame.." Evelynn offered in commentary. "She'd handled her broom exceptionally to avoid the first two they slung at her. A lucky break for the Ravens."

That wasn't exactly true... Not lucky at all, really. Haworth was a decent player, and Shymane wasn't a bad flyer, per se; but she was known more for her endurance and general presence on the field rather than any particularly excellent flying skill. Plus, Evelynn had been a touch disappointed that Moussa hadn't hit his mark. It would have been beneficial for Gryffindor had the birds clinched an easy win. But as Haworth joined Moussa on the pitch floor, it seemed pretty clear that Slytherin was clipping the bird's wings by eliminating their legal offensive power. Ravenclaw would have to bring in some bold moves to recover this

Interacting with @Evelynn Decipio
Mentioning @Nico Shymane and @Erin Ryan

As soon as the match started and Quinn saw the first exchanges he could already get a feel for how things might go. A lot of it came down to pure observation, memory, and previous matches. Slytherin's were tough they had a lot of good players on their side, but Ravenclaw they could be dangerous too. They knew how to use their players even if compared to some of the other houses they were a bit weaker roster strength wise. Mistakes were still made however, he frowned a bit after seeing the first exchanges getting some flashbacks to the previous match before against them. "Aye come on...don't let em get their momentum going. Gotta be bolder than that guys..." It was more of an absentminded comment then anything but loud enough for the person sitting next to him to here.

By this point he made a point to return his attention back to her splitting it between the match and Evelynn. "Well good on ya. Ami's always been a good sport about that. Heck if you wanna come to our practice sometime and see some of what we do. Feel free." He offered happily chuckling to himself a bit. "Besides not like we got anything to hide. You know as well as I do how unpredictable these matches can be. Only by keepin an open mind do we keep things interesting and competitive ya know?" He elaborated as if explaining his reasoning. The whole time his eyes frequently darted to the field and despite the distance. He didn't seem to have too much trouble viewing.

"Ah...well er..." He sighed, "Yah...Erin and I...do not get along. For a lot of reasons but chiefly because she has this insane theory about me being responsible for certain disappearances at this school. Did not help because of that blasted misunderstanding on our first meeting." He shook his head running his fingers through his long curly hair. "Anyways whether it's been at balls or other events. She usually ends up attacking me most of the time unprovoked convinced I'm some sort of threat that needs to be exstinguished. Seems the pitch is the only place we can duke it out legally and it not be too deadly. Hits like a freight that one I shudder to think how that-" He heard that bludger from Erin hit yet another beater as soon another one was now joined on the floor. "feels on someone not as well built as I."

Ravenclaw seemed to be trying to gain some ground back. "Shite they should have gone for another blatch. They'd get their other chaser back here soon. Should have aimed for Thora and get rid of one of their bigger threats or for Tyranni who looked like she was hanging back. Gotta be bolder don't play it so safe or it could cost ya." He frowned seeing Nico get hit, but then smiled. "That's how ya do it Grah." He had been talking in a quieter tone almost to himself as he got sucked into the match for a moment. Though Quinn's quiet was rather loud for most.

Snapping out of it seemingly he looked back to Evelynn. "Well this is an interesting match ain't it. Both teams going at it with a bit o chaos mixed in. Nothing gets me blood going more then being out there. Testing me skills and me teams skills against the others. Sure things get heated but hopefully once all is said and done you've put ya all on the field and can exit feeling proud ya know?" He grinned laughing a bit changing the subject a tad. "Anyway look at me talking like a gobber. Hope I ain't scared ya any Evelynn. Just get excited about these things. Everyone can enjoy this sport and just have a blast whether out on the field or here in the stands." He kept his bright and welcoming smile up. Turning his attention back to the pitch for a brief moment and then finally back to Evelynn a bit of a curious sight. He eyed where she was taking notes for a brief glance. "Makin notes ah see? Ah should have done that too. Would come in handy for tomorrow's match. Gonna be a tough one against ya guys. Should be a good show."