Open Casting A Punch

[Audrey Beauchamp]

To nobody's surprise except perhaps her own, Audrey was a little overwhelmed by the sudden increase in her workload. She had gotten a bit complacent last year, possibly even bored and wishing for more. But perhaps the moral of the story was 'be careful what you wish for', as between her heavy workload and Quidditch she actually felt challenged. She'd never say she was overloaded, of course, she was very much convinced she could handle it, but it was still a little bit more stress than she was actually used to.

As such, she'd gone down to the dungeons to try and blow off a little steam, wanting to get some practice in on duelling. But the dummy she picked didn't seem to work too well. Audrey could have gone and found a professor to get it fixed, but considering her other means of blowing off steam was hitting things with her bat, she decided to take off her robe, put down her wand, and throw a few punches at the dummy for good measure. She'd watched Dion use a punching bag before, and if the dummy's enchantments were worn out, then she wouldn't be at much risk of injury trying the same thing now. "And in the blue corner, why, it's the bewildering beauty of the boxing ring, the amaaaaaaaaazing Audrey!" she announced, hyping herself up as she went straight for an uppercut.

 

[Morrie Ayre]

The duelling chamber had become an ideal place for blowing off steam and venting Morrie's frustration. It was close to her common room, and usually empty, that the Slytherin was beginning to become a regular there.

She made her way to the chamber, hoping to find it empty. However, another student was there, talking to herself, and about to punch the dummy meant for spell practice. Intrigued yet skeptical of the approach, Morrie chose not to barge in telling the girl how incredibly stupid she was to punch metal, or what at least appeared to be metal from where Morrie was stood.

Instead, Morrie stood in the entrance and watched. This looked like it was going to be painful. As she watched the student go for an uppercut, Morrie wondered which dummy would emerge victorious.

 

[Audrey Beauchamp]

Audrey's knuckles were strong, though she wasn't trained in boxing. Her hand deflected off the dummy uncomfortably, and Audrey's lips twitched a little as though she wanted to yell out. But she had a pose to pull, her hand going skyward and held up in the air. She was just going to ignore the slight throb of pain in her hand. It wasn't any worse than anything she dealt with normally. She'd also thought to use her right hand, since she needed her left hand for everything else. It was hard to focus on the pain when she could see herself standing proud in front of a large crowd, cheering her name. Though there wasn't a large crowd, only one girl. Audrey tilted her head, regarding the girl with the sort of curiosity one might give to a odd bug. "Can I help you?" she offered, dryly, in a much flatter tone of voice than she'd used to hype herself up a minute ago.

 

[Morrie Ayre]

Morrie arched an eyebrow at the dry response, her annoyance simmering beneath the surface. It seemed like no one in Hogwarts ever bothered to be friendly, thought Morrie, who wasn't exactly part of the solution. "I was merely observing a dummy," Morrie replied curtly, her tone matching the lack of enthusiasm. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes, instead fixing her with a cool gaze. "But since you offered, perhaps you could point me in the direction of someone who actually knows how to throw a punch."

 

[Audrey Beauchamp]

Audrey was equal parts amused and bewildered at the younger girl. A little bit annoyed, too. She looked so surly, Audrey thought, she was bound to get wrinkles and grey hairs by the time she was a seventh year. So not cute. "Well," she said, feeling the need to defend herself. "I could transfigure this into a punching bag, then I'd be able to give a better demonstration," as though that was the biggest problem and not the fact that she'd never learned proper boxing techniques. "Orrr I could use my bat on it. Are you a boxer, then?"

 

[Morrie Ayre]

Morrie scoffed, crossing her arms defensively as she contemplated whether she should lie about being a boxer or not. "I... well, no," she admitted, her words punctuated by a slight stutter. "But I can defend myself if I need to," she added firmly. Her thoughts then turned to the idea of using a bat, and a grin not too dissimilar to the Grinch spread across her face. "Hitting it with a bat sounds like it could be fun, though!" she replied with a tone of sinister excitement.

 

[Audrey Beauchamp]

Audrey could sometimes be generous. Sometimes. Not often, though. She did have a new bat along with her lucky one, and maybe it was the new bat that meant she wasn't doing so well with playing Quidditch at the moment. And maybe this would be a good way to let off some stress. "You can use my new one, then," she said, not unkindly, as she took her well loved glittery one in hand.

(Yes, she had her beater bats on hand. Let's just say she'd been playing Quidditch beforehand and go with that).

With that, she wound up like she was doing a baseball style swing, despite the fact she'd only ever seen baseball in pictures, stepped forward, and swung at the non functioning training dummy like it was all her frustration made manifest.

 

[Morrie Ayre]

Oh yeah. Those two beater bats had been there the whole time but Morrie hadn't felt the need to acknowledge them. After all, the chamber was filled with various objects that weren't necessarily worth mentioning until they became relevant. Her eyes brightened at the unexpected offer to wield the new bat, of the two it was the bat she'd choose. She couldn't believe it. t felt like all Morrie's Christmases had come at once — although the analogy brought to mind disappointing gifts, arguments, and rage eating dry turkey. Regardless, Morrie was genuinely grateful and expressed her appreciation. "Thanks, uh... what's your name?" She asked, "I'm Morrie." She added.

Morrie watched the girl whack the dummy and made a 'cor' sound, clearly impressed. She opted for a swing like a lumberjack, delivering her blows to the metal dummy next. The sensation was invigorating, the reverberation of each hit coursing through her. She continued to pummel the dummy, imagining each impact was someone she hated. First Summer, then Vanity, followed by that slimy first year Seeker — her list went on.

Morrie showed no signs of stopping anytime soon.

 

[Audrey Beauchamp]

"No problem. I'm Audrey," Audrey responded. The younger girl was weird, unfashionable and kind of glum, but with all the pressure she was under (which was entirely self-inflicted, but even so) she kind of appreciated having company to destress in a destructive and not altogether rule abiding manner. She couldn't imagine getting Lucy or Teddy to start hitting things with bats. It kind of reminded her of getting really frustrated with her parents and taking her dad's bat and smashing things up with it. Sure, she'd been locked in her room for a week for that, but it had been worth it. She took a few swings of her own, but after a bit just watched the younger girl go all in on the defective dummy. "Wow. And I thought I was in a bad mood."

 

[Morrie Ayre]

Morrie paused mid swing, a surge of exhilaration coursing through her veins. It was a rush she hadn't expected, the satisfying impact of the bat against the metal dummy momentarily easing the weight of her anger. She made a mental note to indulge in this form of stress relief more often.

Morrie shot Audrey a sidelong glance when she spoke, a smirk tugging at the corners of her lips. It was the kind of smirk that hinted at darker thoughts lurking beneath the surface, like an evil movie serial killer smile. "Guess I've got a lot to be in a bad mood about."