Closed Risking It All

[Ivelisse Burleigh]

With Ruben gone Ivelisse didn't find it surprising that the new captains had decided to take her on as seeker. She had done well last year and she was sure she could continue developer her skills and become the best seeker at the school. Sure, she was young and there were some older seekers around but she didn't care. She could do this. She could be better. She just needed to practice untill she couldn't anymore and even then practice some more. Push it to the limits. No surrender. No giving up. Especially not with how cutthroat the Slytherin team was. There was no doubt in her mind they would all resent her if they lost. A possibility she had taken into account and thought about many times before she realized she didn't exactly care about what her teammates thought. Did she want to be the best? Yes. Did she know she had it in her? Obviously. Was there a part of her that rationalized the situation and knew she might not yet be the best this year? Absolutely. But that didn't mean she wouldn't give it her all. Make catching that golden ball a second nature. Which was exactly the sense of determination she had taken with her to the pitch today to make sure she got some extra practice in, something she would try to do whenever she could. With the sneaky little thing cluthed in her hand Ive took to the sky, hovering in spot for a moment to observe it.

 

[Celia Vuong]

Celia was feeling optimistic about the upcoming Quidditch season. Ruben had been replaced with a better seeker, and the new alternates showed promise. With a year under her belt, Celia was also feeling a lot more secure about her place on the team. Ares might be older, but she was still the more senior (and more talented) beater — something she was sure she had demonstrated at the last practice. With half of the school's beaters graduating at the end of the year, Celia knew it wouldn't be long before she was the best beater at Hogwarts.

But first she needed to get through the year. Celia had come down to the pitch today to work on her flying. She knew she wasn't as strong as most beaters, so she had adapted her strategy accordingly. She much preferred flying up to bludgers, positioning herself to get the best angle, and then letting the momentum of the ball do the rest of the work. It was less tiring, but it required a lot of delicate flying if she didn't want to accidentally get hit herself.

It seemed she was not the only one who wanted extra practice. Bat in hand, Celia kicked off and flew up to where Ivelisse was hovering. "I guess we had the same idea," she said by way of greeting. Ivelisse had never been Celia's favorite roommate, but she'd slowly come to accept the fact that they were stuck together, especially now that they were both starters on the team. "I'm pretty sure you're supposed to let go of that for it to do its job," she said, pointing at the snitch with her bat. If they were friends, then the comment could have been a lighthearted joke. Unfortunately they were not, and her remark carried with it the lightest touch of disdain.

 

[Ivelisse Burleigh]

Ivelisse had just been about to let go of the snitch when she noticed another student walk onto the pitch, squinting her eyes to see if she could make out who it was. It didn't take her long to do so when the girl flew up though and she tried not to groan when it turned out to be Celia. She didn't dislike her roommate but she didn't particularly like her either and she was sure the girl would have some sort of opinion on her becoming the team's new seeker. And would certainly love to judge her if she wasn't able to catch the snitch during their first match. "Guess so." Ive nodded in response when Celia reached her, rolling her eyes at what she said next but playing it off as a joke. "I know that, I was just preparing myself for the chase."

 

[Celia Vuong]

Celia noticed and definitely did not appreciate the eyeroll but decided not to comment on it. After all, she could be a gracious person. Sometimes. And making an enemy of Ivelisse would only make her own life miserable, even if Celia was sure she had enough spite in her to weather that storm if necessary. "Well, go on then," she said, nodding toward the snitch. She wondered how much of snitch catching was mental focus and physical skill or luck. She assumed it was mostly the latter. "Or do you want me to lob bludgers at you to make it realistic?" she asked, raising her bat slightly. "I don't mind," she said with an innocent smile she was sure Ivelisse could see through. Celia hadn't actually been planning on using the bludgers today, but she wasn't about to pass up an opportunity to aim a couple at her second-favorite Slytherin seeker.