Open Kicking Around

[Professor Louis Alcott]

Open after Rowan posts with Manaia Te Rangi

Louis had enjoyed going home over break, but he was happy to be back too. He had gotten himself a new ball over break and was kicking it around on the lawn. He missed playing football with his friends at home and hoped to play with a few other kids, though there weren't that many outside at the moment. Louis stopped the ball with his foot and looked around, finally spotting one of his classmates. He hadn't spoken to him much, but he knew his name from classes. "Hey, Manaia! Want to play?" He called over to the Hufflepuff.

 

[Manaia Te Rangi]

Manaia had expected to enjoy the hoilday, but he hadn't realised how homesick it would make him. He missed boating with dad, and singing songs after dinner with the whole whānau*. Hogwarts was fun, but it wasn't home, as much as having Auntie Kahu here sometimes made it feel like. He felt... unsettled, and he didn't like it. Wandering outside Manaia was considering going for another swim in the lake when he heard his own name, looking over curiously. He grinned at the sight of Louis, making his way over to his classmate eagerly. "Totally!" Manaia said brightly, glad for the distraction from his own thoughts. "I haven't played soccer since primary school."

 

[Professor Louis Alcott]

Louis was glad Manaia seemed on board, but laughed at his next words. He kicked the ball in his direction. "Yeah? So not since a few months ago?" He teased. He understood, though. It hadn't been that long since they had started Hogwarts, but to Louis it had felt longer. "Let's see if you've grown rusty then." He joked, preparing himself for Manaia to kick the ball back to him.

 

[Manaia Te Rangi]

Manaia laughed at Louis' call out, catching the ball easily with his foot. "Feels like longer though, aye?" He commented, thinking about how strange it was that he had been at Hogwarts for so little time. He dribbled the ball for a wee moment, remebering how it felt, before kicking it back to Louis easily. "Reckon I'm still good?" He called out, grinning slightly. Soccer had never been his thing, per se, but he was alright at it for sure.

 

[Professor Louis Alcott]

Louis laughed and nodded. "It really does!" He said, shaking his head. It was hard to remember what life was like before Hogwarts, less fun. He stopped the ball with his foot after Manaia kicked it back at him. "Good enough." He said with a grin. "But not as good as me." He added, kicking the ball back with more force.

 

[Manaia Te Rangi]

Manaia laughed at Louis's challenge, though his reflexes clearly weren't quite up to the same standard as the French boy's. He didn't manage to block the soccer ball coming his way in time, yelping in dismay as it shot past him. "Oi! You got a mean as kick!" He laughed, chasing after the ball and quickly kicking it back to the Gryffindor.

 

[Xiuying Huang]

Xiuying had been bored since she arrived back at Hogwarts. The girl didn't really have many friends, plus Quidditch wasn't really for the first years, which had annoyed the young Ravenclaw. However, she was determined to try and keep herself entertained. Xiuying had decided to take a walk outside Hogwarts, hoping that there was at least SOMETHING for her to do. She then spotted a couple of boys around her age, familiar faces from classes, kicking a ball around. This had gotten Xiuying excited. The girl loves sports. Especially football. The young Ravenclaw quickly, yet excitedly made her way towards the boys, only standing a few meters away. "Hey! You got room for one more?" Xiuying called out with a smile, as she waved her arms slightly to get the boys attention. She hoped that they were okay with adding another player.

 

[Professor Louis Alcott]

Louis laughed, but tilted his head in confusion. "Mean? You mean like, mean to the ball?" He asked, confused by what the boy meant. He was pretty fluent in English, but sometimes weird saying still baffled him. He looked up as someone joined them, recognizing the girl. "Hey Xiuying!" He called, waving. It had been a while. "Sure!" He said, kicking the ball in her direction now. "Think fast!"

 

[Manaia Te Rangi]

Manaia sometimes forgot his international classmates weren't familiar with New Zealand slang, giving a cheerful laugh as he explained. "Nah, it's slang! Mean as means, like, good, cool, wicked." He grinned, trying to explain the best he could. He looked up, distracted as another player approached them, laughing slightly as Louis kicked the ball to her with no warning. "Oi, rude!" He laughed at the Gryffindor boy.

 

[Xiuying Huang]

Xiuying laughed as the ball had quickly been passed to her without warning, the ball going past her slightly. "Hey!" Xiuying says with surprise and a laugh, as the ball zoomed past her. The Ravenclaw quickly made her way towards the ball, as it had gotten a bit further away from her than she had thought. Once she had finally caught the ball, Xiuying juggled the ball between her feet, before kicking the ball back towards the boys. "Now you guys think fast," Xiuying says with a giggle before she quickly made her way to the boys, standing closer to them.

 

[Professor Louis Alcott]

Louis nodded as the boy explained, though he couldn't help laughing. "I thought wicked meant... evil, bad?" He asked, tilting his head. "English is weird." He added with a small shrug. He whistled as he saw Xiuying juggle the ball between her feet, running forward to intercept it before Manaia could. "That was awesome!" He said, before kicking it over to the Hufflepuff boy. To be a bit impressive as well, he kicked the ball up in the air.

 

[Manaia Te Rangi]

Manaia was alright at soccer, but seeing his classmates practice, it was pretty clear he was outclassed. That wasn't going to stop him though, and he laughed slightly at Louis' question about language. "Yeah, nah, it's slang. It means evil, but it also means cool sometimes, you know?" He shrugged slightly, before running to catch Xiuying's shot, though Louis beat him there. He moved back slightly to catch Louis' kick, fumbling slightly before he got control of the ball and kicked it back to Xiuying.

 

[Xiuying Huang]

Xiuying smiled a little, as she was proud of herself with that wee juggle she did with the ball. The girl loved football, though personally, she thought that she wasn't that great at it. The Ravenclaw watched as her classmates then took turns with the ball and smiled with encouragement towards Mania as she notices that he fumbles a little before the ball was kicked back towards her. Xiuying kicked the ball lightly between her feet before passing the ball back to Louis. "Hello, boys, what are we talking about?" Xiuying then asks as she was curious about what they were talking about and wanted to be part of the conversation.

 

[Professor Louis Alcott]

Louis shrugged when the boy said it could mean multiple things. "I guess so." He said, though he wasn't sure if it made much sense to him. He watched as the ball went to Xiuying, who asked what they were talking about. "Language, Manaia was teaching me weird New Zealand slang." Louis said with a laugh. He stopped the ball and then tried to do the same thing Xiuying had just done, passing the ball between his own feet before kicking it up slightly and then kicking it over to Manaia.

 

[Manaia Te Rangi]

Manaia smiled as Xiuying came closer, nodding as Louis explained what they had been doing. "Yeah, he didn't know what wicked meant!" He smiled, catching the ball Louis passed to him, trying and failing to dribble it before kicking it back to Xiuying. "I guess French slang is real different from English, aye?"