Closed Better Suited

[Rene Tofilau]

With the new year starting up and try-outs just around the corner, René had been thinking a lot about Quidditch again. He'd gotten in some practice with Sully over the break, as much as they could do without brooms, and René couldn't shake the awareness of how differently Sully played compared to him. It wasn't just because Sully was older, or better at sports than him, though it didn't help. René just couldn't shake the feeling he just wasn't built to be a chaser. He wasn't as fast on a broom or sure with his throws like Sully was. If he was built like anyone on the team, it was like Connor, or especially Tilly, with bigger arms and height. Beater seemed kind of scary, but the more René thought about it, the more he'd rather deal with bludgers with a bat than without anyway.

Circling the Hufflepuff table a few times, René finally built up enough nerve to sit down, glancing at Tilly across the table for a moment before clearing his throat. "Hey, can I ask you some stuff, about being a beater and stuff," he said, doing his best to sit up straight. "Mostly like. Do you think I could do it?" He asked, unable to help but lean over the table eagerly for Tilly's response.

 

[Tilly Drage]

At first, Tilly didn’t notice Rene hovering around her at the house table. She was tucking into her bowl of porridge loaded with nuts and brown sugar while simultaneously flipping through a book about the history of curse-making. Some might question her intentions, but she was really just curious. Tilly started when Rene plopped down in front of her. She tilted the spoon she had been bringing to her mouth just slightly and the blob of cereal fell onto the book. Her brow furrowing, she pulled out her wand and quickly removed the mess with Scourgify. She breathed a sigh of relief- it wouldn’t do to have the librarians angry with her for how often she visited the stacks these days.

Tilly looked up at her teammate, still taken aback by his eagerness. It was amazing how quickly the energy of her first years at school had disappeared. “I mean, yeah,” Tilly replied, a smile working its way slowly to her face. “What do you want to know?” She had no idea Rene had interest in being a beater, but she could see it. He was growing bigger by the day, and she and Connor really could use a good alternate if one of them were knocked out of a game. "I think you could do it- if you put in the work."

 

[Rene Tofilau]

[we're both so good at replies look at us, replying sorry]
René immediately perked up when Tilly said she thought he could do it, feeling a squirmy pleased feeling in his stomach. He knew Tilly wasn't too much older than him, but she was still a starting member of the team, and good beater to boot, so it meant a lot that she thought he had the potential. "Yeah? I mean, yeah. Thanks. Cool. I really uh. Want to," he said, trying not to come off too over eager. "Do you do anything to practice? I've played softball before in primary school.. you think that'd help? Or maybe like press ups or something?" He asked, getting more excited about the idea as the fear of trying something new gave way to the thrill of actually being successful. He didn't know how Tilly or Connor had managed to get so solid, but there was definitely something to be said about the beater's build and René thought it'd be pretty cool to be as strong as those two.

 

[Tilly Drage]

Tilly was impressed by Rene’s enthusiasm. Years ago, she’d been in the same boat as him. Now, she’d mellowed out some. She still loved Quidditch, of course, but she wasn’t exactly foaming at the mouth about it anymore. “I mean, playing softball would help, I think,” she said, “since you’re swinging a bat, except the target you’re hitting is much harder,” she smirked, adding, “and sometimes, the target is trying to hit you.”

Taking another spoon of her porridge, Tilly continued, “The best practice is just getting out on the pitch and hitting bludgers. I’m out there often, you’re always welcome to join me.”