EXTRACURRICULAR
QUIDDITCH PLAYER | First String Chaser

STATS. (+8 sports win; total 73)
STA: 13
EVA: 22
STR: 14
WIS: 5
ARC: 0
ACC: 19

(1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)

ABILITIES:

Evasive Maneuvers I

Reducio

Being nimble was the world’s first impression of Lysander. As if loaded with unbridled energy from those many months spent bundled in a bassinet, the boy’s agility surpassed the average child’s the moment he could balance himself on both legs; a habit of tiny feet pattering from dinner when a picky palate went unimpressed to a masterful weave between his father’s legs to chase after a crup at a fair were just a few examples of what gave his “terrible-twos” hyperactivity its namesake. Initially, such a trait was endearing. To his father, the boy’s energy was a powerful reinforcement that he was at least raising a happy and adventurous son how his late wife would have wanted.

But it was not conducive for a widowed father to balance a rowdy, curious child with work that called for travel. For an extra set of eyes while away, Mr. Stavrou briefly employed the help of Ms. Florence, a nanny no younger than her late-fifties. Lysander was wise enough to understand the woman’s purpose and mischievous enough to put it to test, sprinting away from punishment and delighting in the chase. If asked, Florence would not sugarcoat his difficulty and theorise that his behaviour must have been the tragic lashing-out after a mother’s passing. In truth, Lysander was just simply not one for sitting still.

The only person to realise this was Sutton Pierce, his father’s second wife in 2009. Like most pure-blood children, there came a time to prioritise private education over play. Lysander was not lacking in smarts, but rather struggled to focus, known by his tutors to become fidgety in his seat from long hours without proper stimulation. Rather than exhibit force like many in his life to abide by their strict ideals of a curriculum, his new stepmother encouraged Lysander to flourish in an environment of his choosing. Perhaps what he needed was an outlet, and so Sutton enrolled the five-year-old in dance.

This gracious understanding on Sutton’s part led to Lysander’s earliest distinct hobby; one that would become a lifelong infatuation with the arts and eventually other sports. A reputable ballet company within her own social connections trained discipline, physical strength, and grace, while fulfilling his desire to challenge the limits of the human body. To satisfy his daredevil side, climbing was done on the side after exhausting every area of horizontal space at his father’s estate. Trees, roofs, and ledges provided beautiful viewing leverages of which he himself would later master for parkour.

WC: 416

Evasive Maneuvers II

Reducio

Lysander’s classical dance training wasn’t just good for lifting girls in a pas de deux. Having quick and flexible footwork carried over to other disciplines he found worthwhile, such as fencing. It was his father’s idea to introduce him to the martial art in preparation that more people would seek harm to his firstborn son as they had himself and his wife. Prancing was nice and all, but even if swordsmanship seemed obsolete in the presence of magical society, a person could never be too ready for a variety of combat types in the dangerous world they inhabited. Lysander may have been too young at the time for his own wand, but his father owned quite the vast collection of rapiers properly vetted from his own experience.

In fact, his father became his first teacher, but his impressive collection would not find itself in the boy’s eager hands until he fulfilled a basic mastery of foil; the conventional route for a beginner before dabbling in heavier épée or sabre. Like all things to learn, the basics came first—and there was nothing more basic than to stick ‘em with the pointy end—but there were rules too. Patience eased the learning process. Lysander didn’t have much of it, childishly inspired then by heroes like the Three Musketeers, but he was firmly dedicated and competitive as Stavrous were notorious for. While dance had given him an excellent, solid core and leg strength, years of training fencing with his father and eventually other coaches pushed his speed into seemingly supernatural realms. Duels with Lysander were guaranteed to start and end quickly if at all, opponents often unwilling to challenge his bullet-like speed after seeing it in action.

It didn’t help that his own tall, lithe figure gave Lysander an extended reach for more aggressive tactics. Long arms and perfected hand-eye coordination kept opponents on their toes and victim to unforgiving exchanges of thrust and parry. At times, it risked him becoming particularly vulnerable to what was perhaps his only weakness—attacks at close distances—but it didn't take long for him to understand and adjust to these obvious plays, footwork and parries sufficient to widen the space and shield his once open defences. Like the “physical chess” the sport was considered, Lysander was quite literally almost always one step ahead of those he encountered on the piste.

One of the best things about being so nimble was that it was practically always more useful than not. It provided protection from wayward spells or fists and a means of escape for what was occasionally a smart mouth. With a magical competency that was considered disappointing by both family and himself alike, Lysander learned to make up for such a shortcoming with his lightweight and precise agility. No one could doubt his physical inclinations.

WC: 466

Charmer

Reducio

It was no secret that Lysander was a bit of a charmer. He knew it too. Cute, innocent-like features as a child easily wrapped mothers and aunts alike around his little finger no matter how much of a troublemaker he was. As he grew, said features would make way into sharp, conventional looks; the typical tall, dark, and handsome type that mirrored many of the men in his family. His appearance certainly helped better how he was perceived, but looks alone weren't what made him so personable and magnetic.

A wide array of hobbies and skills would also draw in personalities from all walks of life to befriend him. Solemn, artistic types like painters and dancers could mingle together with unreserved jocks as long as Lysander was present as a common denominator to guide conversation. His extroversion and varied interests made others find him rather fascinating and wise. Adaptive too. A pure-blood upbringing like his required a certain social intelligence to successfully navigate any circle, atmosphere, or situation he found himself in. Charm, however, was a multifaceted trait, and not always utilised for the purest reasons.

On one hand, his charm, when genuine, bred mutual trust and loyalty in those closest to him. Chivalry was not dead. It was alive and well within Lysander. Even as a sole boy, he exhibited courteous and gentlemanly qualities towards those he was brought up to believe needed it; small children, even smaller animals, the sick, and women, although his assumptions on the latter group’s capabilities received its fair share of chewing outs—magic was considered a great equaliser, after all. Nonetheless, upon the birth of his younger half-sister Constance, Lysander took it upon himself to honour a big brother’s role, exhibiting a natural desire to protect the newest and frailest member of his family. Eight years his junior, Constance looked up to his amiability and was grateful for his protection, even if sometimes overbearing and self-fulfilling.

On the other hand, his charm could be deceptive. Although Lysander would be hard-pressed to admit it, his alluring nature also served as a shield from the more undesired aspects of himself. Namely, his difficulties in wand work, which day by day were becoming more difficult to justify as he neared his adolescence. Immensely sensitive to the mere question of his magical prowess, a wide smile and a suave change of subject were just two of his overcompensating measures to outright avoid the topic altogether. Another was his tendencies for thieving. What may have begun as stealing for attention or benefit was, deep down, just a means of feeling powerful, if only for a moment. It was easy to sweet-talk his way into a person’s trust and thereby, their material belongings. By Merlin, if he could not actually become a decent wizard, he could certainly convince a room with a booming voice and endearing outward disposition.

WC: 478

Fearless

Reducio

Perhaps unsurprisingly, he was not a boy with many fears. He was practically born a daredevil. Unlike the common sense often employed by others in his family, Lysander operated on pure risk taking, preferring to ask himself “what ifs” and “why nots” rather than harbour regrets that he’d let a good opportunity pass him by. Gradually, this sort of mentality made him a fearless type—not so fearless in that he never felt or found things threatening, but in that he was willing to approach danger in the first place and significantly more capable than others at keeping a cool head.

His impulsivity and drive to prove himself only furthered his acts of valour. When not stuck indoors with his tutors and countless texts to pour over, young Lysander would venture elsewhere during his free time for entertainment. There were only so many stuffy interiors a boy could roughhouse in before being shooed outside over a broken vase, and so nature became his element where he felt least restricted. Among nature, he had the challenge of scaling trees and small cliffs. Though the latter were few and far between where he resided, his father’s property did have ample woodland; spiralling, birch forests creating dense canopies near the estate’s northeast border. Solid ground having been thoroughly explored during his early years, the trees were still relatively unconquered in comparison.

They wouldn’t be for long. Climbing, unlike fencing or dance, began on his own terms and was done recreationally—a whisk of curiosity that stuck as a hobby. There was no competition or right or wrong technique to it, just raw climbing as anyone with the physical ability could muster. The fear of heights never manifested within Lysander as it did so commonly in others, early exposure doing wonders. To contrast, he’d somehow roped his cousin into climbing one summer; some sort of business going on between their respective fathers. For all he knew, ascending a tree was no big deal, regardless how powerful the winds were or how wobbly the branches. But witnessing her breakdown, paralysed twenty feet in, supplied the boy with a major understanding of terror. Lysander vowed he would never find himself in such a position.

When sent to Durmstrang and left out of range of his parents’ every observation, trees would become roofs, ledges, and castle walls. Parkour, the muggles called it allegedly. Then he challenged luck even further in the form of flight, taking his broom with him to try out for the Quidditch team. A grip on the fear response was especially beneficial then; a role as barbaric and dangerous as chaser left no room for mental error.

WC: 441