Alternately Stuck

[Marisol Woods]

Now that the new semester was about to start, Marisol was going to make it her new mission to practice on her own time aside from team practices. If she was ever going to get a chance to play during a game, she needed to be ready no matter what. She was a little disheartened because her favorite position was Seeker, and although she had no doubts about her ability to perform well for her team, she was only an alternate for the position, and seeing as how their current Seeker was only a year older than her, it meant he was going to be around for a long time. Which meant Marisol might not ever get a chance to play in an actual game. And that just did not sit well for her.

But after watching the previous two games, Marisol was beginning to see the importance of alternates, and especially noted that often times they didn't necessarily play the position they were initially assigned to. So Marisol knew she had to brush up on practicing for positions other than Seeker, just in case her team needed her in any one of those. Versatility was key in Marisol's plans to play in a real game soon. With a broom in hand, the Gryffindor made it out onto the pitch on a cold early morning with the trunk of practice balls in tow. She dragged the unopened trunk of equipment onto the middle of the field and set it down, before beginning to stretch and warm up for a few laps around the pitch first.​

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[Zara Lovette]

The new semester had arrived, taking away the cozy and nicely-paced vacation away with it. There were some bittersweet feelings when it came to arriving back at school. On one hand, she would surely miss her family with all her heart; on the other, she would be able to see her brilliant friends and the magnificent Hogwarts school grounds again. In the end, she could do nothing about it instead return to the life that she had adjusted to over the past couple of months, and that went with the schedule that she had made for herself as well.

Always having to keep herself occupied, Zara had already devoted quite a bit of her time to practicing quidditch when she got the chance. The possible boost in performance on the pitch was a plus, as she often just got out because she loved the feel of flying. It was freeing in every possible way and the fact that she had the opportunity to be an alternate filled her with glee. Jean was soon graduating so she had a chance at his position, and though she would work hard to obtain it, Leo was older than her and therefore might get priority position. She supposed she would just have to keep on fighting! So she was out on the field when she got the chance, Quidditch clothing on and borrowed broom in hand. She was just planning on practising flying today but was pleasantly surprised when she first caught sight of the trunk of equipment and then a fellow alternate on the field. With her free hand she waved excitedly above. "Hey Marisol, Marisol! Mind if I practice with ya?"
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[Marisol Woods]

It wasn't long before Marisol finished up her warmup stretches, mostly cut short due to her eagerness to fly again. She still felt new to the wizarding world and especially to something as popular in wizard culture as Quidditch, but when she was up in the air, she completely understood exactly why people loved it. She hadn't been in the air long when she heard her name being called from below and recognized her teammate. Marisol flew down and landed gently on the ground and said, "Hey!" to Zara in greeting and said, "Sure you can!" Zara was also an alternate for Gryffindor, albeit a different position than Marisol, but perhaps the arrival of her housemate was exactly what she needed to help her become more well rounded in the other positions.

The werewolf remembered Zara's tryout earlier in the year and said, "Hey, you tried out for Seeker as well, didn't you?" With this in mind Marisol hoped Zara would be open to helping each other train in their respective positions so they could be better and hopefully make the team officially next year. Marisol still had to worry about the fact that their current seeker wasn't going anywhere for a while, but that was an issue to tackle for another day. "I was thinking of practicing as Chaser for a bit today, so maybe you can help me train for that position, and then I can help you with Seeker?" Marisol explained with a hopeful tone.​