Slytherin Quidditch Practice Y37/S1

[Blake van Houten]

Blake had been thinking about today all holidays, and it felt a little surreal to actually be here. Leadership had always come easily to him; it was something he had come to expect from life, from his hockey team to quidditch. But now that he was actually in charge on his own, everything had changed. It felt harder and harder to access that same ruthlessness his father had trained into him as a kid. Sure, he wanted to win. Desperately, he wanted Slytherin to stay on top, the best of the best, but now... it was getting harder and harder to tap into the kind of harshness he knew was needed.

He was determined to lead the team to victory though, which meant putting them through their paces. He had called a practice as soon as he could book the pitch, and all the Quidditch strategy books he had read over the holidays swirled through his mind as he waited for the team to show up. Slytherin were champions, and he was going to shape these new players into the kind of players who would carry that championship forward, no ifs, ands, or buts.

Out of Character:

Arrivals only for now, practice will begin in roughly 24 hours. Please take the time to refresh your memory of the Quidditch rules, and if you have any new questions about them don't hesitate to drop me a PM!

Slytherin,Practice

 

[Liusaidh Styx]

Liusaidh had to admit she was a little disappointed when she didn't make the full team, the captain was clearly a fool, but she wouldn't pass up an opportunity to play. and to show how incorrectly he had picked too. So, for once in her life, Liusaidh was on time to something and in this case even early - she was the first to arrive at the pitch. "Oh hey captain," she said her voice dripping with false sweetness.

 

[Daintree Vaskevold]

Daintree just wanted things to get kicked off. He arrived at the pitch with plenty of time and was one of the first to arrive, one of the new players - the trampoline girl - had arrived before him. He was happy to just stand in silence with his broom and bat in hand ready to get started, waiting for everyone else to turn up.

 

[Tres Bear II]

Tres was pleased that Blake had managed to see the potential she had to play as a Chaser for the team, and came down to the pitch with her hair pinned back and freshly cleaned Quidditch robes ready to begin practise. Sure, other people may have had an advantage over her since she hadn't been to one before, but she was going to show everyone that she was more than capable. Leaning against her broom, she waited for her new teammates to turn up.

 

[Penny Wills]

Penny had done it, she'd made the Slytherin Quidditch team. Well sort of. She was a alternative beater and that was good enough for her right now. Feeling confident, she headed down to the Quidditch pitch with her beaters bat under arm to join her team for their first practice. "Hey everyone!" She said, joining the gathering group of Slytherins.

 

[Ruben Right]

Ruben joined the group of Slytherins who. was starting to gather on the pitch. Today was the first day of practice and, even as an alternate, Ruben was excited to start training. He figured that today he would be competing with Blake trying to catch the snitch, which would be hard considering he was the main seeker of the winning team, but also very exciting, Ruben could only improve.
He joined Penny in the pitch, which was the only person he knew besides the captain, and gave Blake a shy smile not really sure if they were friends after their seeker training. Nevertheless having Penny there wouldn't make him feel so lonely.

 

[Paige Thompson]

Paige was very satisfied with Blake's decision to finally give her that spot on the team which should in all fairness have been hers to begin with. She joined the others on the pitch with a wide smile on her face and greeted them happily, pleased as ever.

 

[Jasper Night]

The team had changed slightly, but a lot of the members were still the same. Jasper was curious what Blake would be like as a leader on his own, rather than with Sapphire to help him out. He waited for practice to start, looking at the new kids for a moment. Especially the chasers, as he'd have to work together closely with them.

 

[Blake van Houten]

Once the team had assembled Blake cleared his throat, his firm tone echoing his father's from countless training sessions in Blake's youth. "Alright, listen up!" He announced, looking around at the faces of the players he would be calling teammates for the year. "As champions, we practice as hard as we play. That means no pulling punches, no daydreaming, and no running around for your own glory. We win or lose as a team, which means we play as a team. Play hard so your teammates have to play harder, but never forget we're all on the same side." Blake knew he wasn't the most popular with teammates his own age, but after so many years together he trusted Jasper and Mordred to at least work with him for the sake of victory.

The same certainty couldn't necessarily be applied to all of the new recruits. "Chasers, this applies to you the most. Practice passing, practice playing in support. If you wanted to fly around hitting people, you should have tried out for beater." He added with a pointed look at Liusaidh. The ferocity in her tryout had impressed him... a few years ago he knew she would have been his favourite new recruit, hands down, but now... Blake could see the risk her focus on personal glory could place on the team, and he knew he would be watching her cooperation skills closely. With the chasers addressed, he moved on to the rest of the team. "Mordred, you know what you're doing, you've got this. Just keep a close watch and put these new chasers through their paces. Beaters, pull no punches. I want to see hard hits, and I want to see a lot of them. If you can put me in the hospital wing after practice, I'll buy you all butterbeer. Your only goal in matches is to obliterate the other seekers, so let's see that exact same ferocity today." He said firmly, before looking to Ruben. "That affects you too. We've gotta be fast. Catch the snitch, and don't get killed. The other teams will be gunning for you in a real match, so don't ever lose focus." Blake had never lost sight of the fact that Quidditch could be a brutal sport, and that risk had always driven him to play harder, an instinct he hoped to pass down to the young alternate. With one last look out at the team, Blake nodded. "Everyone, play your hardest, hundred percent energy. No exceptions." He lifted the whistle around his neck and gave a sharp blow, kicking open the trunk by his feet as he did to free the balls and begin the practice, before kicking off into the air and starting the task of hunting down the snitch.

 

[Blake van Houten]

Blake flew on as the practice got underway, looking around for any sign of the snitch and keeping one eye on the rest of the team, hoping in particular to see what the new recruits were made of.

 

[Ruben Right]

Ruben heard Blake carefully, he seemed to know what he was talking about and even though he wasn't the most gentle person he definitely knew how to make his point. When he told the beaters that he wanted to end in the hospital wing Ruben got a little worried, would he end up in the hospital wing too? Well on the bright side he would see a part of Hogwarts that he never did.
When Blake turned to him Ruben gave him a firm and determined nod. As the practice started Ruben flew looking for the snitch, he looked around but there were no signs of it. He also tried to keep an eye outfor bludgers just in case he needed to dodge any.

 

[Blake van Houten]

Blake decided to begin searching around the goalposts, flying up and searching for any signs of gold as he went, though the snitch continued to elude him.

 

[Ruben Right]

Ruben suddenly had a glance of the snitch and speeded up to catch it. He was not sure if Blake had seen it but he also didn't care about that. Ruben focused on the snitch like Blake had advised him to but also keeping an eye out for any bludgers. Suddenly the snitch was right in front of him and so Ruben speeded up a little bit more a caught the snitch. He got back to Blake and grinned with the snitch in his hand "How's that for a first attempt?" he said before letting it go again.

 

[Blake van Houten]

Blake didn't look away from his search for the snitch until he heard a voice, glancing over to see who had spoken. His eyes widened in shock as he realised Ruben was holding the snitch already. It was hard to know whether to be proud of his protege, or embarrassed that he had been beaten to the punch. "Good work!" He called back, trying to keep his tone professional and neutral. "Let's see you do it again!" He waited a moment after Ruben released the snitch before returning to his own search, hoping to catch it again quickly and remind the team why he was the best seeker in the school. Beginner's luck couldn't change that.

 

[Ruben Right]

Ruben looked at Blake with a grin, if he wanted to see him catch the snitch again he would see him catch the snitch again. "Watch me" he said to Blake before examining the quidditch pitch looking for the snitch and once he got his sight on it he speeded up towards it catching again.
He triumphantly came back to Blake with the snitch in his hand for him to see before letting it go again "You know, I think that extra practice that we had definitely helped me improve a lot" he said to Blake so he could also feel good about Ruben being able to catch the snitch for the second time. If it wasn't for Blake to accept him on the team and round up Ruben's rough edges he probably wasn't as good as he was now.

 

[Paige Thompson]

Paige watched in awe as the new alternate seeker caught the snitch twice in a row. "We should put him in every match from now on," the girl said when she flew by Blake, grinning slightly.

 

[Blake van Houten]

Blake had had a lot of lucky catches when he had first started out on the team, he reminded himself. This was just Ruben's first practice, and he got lucky. Blake was determined to find the snitch again. He was so focused on the search he once again missed Ruben catching the snitch immediately, and his heart sunk into his shoes. Surely he had just watched where it went after he let it go and followed that. "Right." Blake snapped. "Just don't count on beginner's luck when it counts." He said firmly, before pulling his broom away to look for the snitch again. Paige's comment didn't help, and Blake shot her an icy glare. "Focus on the bludgers, unless you like how the bench feels." He snapped, though the threat was entirely empty. Paige was the entire reason they had scraped through the championship last year, and there was no chance he was benching one of their most promising players without good reason.

 

[Ruben Right]

Ruben couldn't help but feel a little guilty about catching the snitch but he wanted to show Blake that he was a good seeker, maybe he was being too good for Balke's taste as suddenly the boy felt a little more distant to him.
Ruben couldn't dwell on that now, he flew away searching for the snitch to maybe catch it a third time but not really finding it anywhere.

 

[Blake van Houten]

Blake clenched his teeth too tight for comfort as he turned his attention away from his teammates, trying to focus on finding the snitch as quickly as he could. The sooner he could remind everyone of his place on top, the better.

 

[Mordred Cavanaugh]

Mordred knew what he was doing, and he did not need Blake to tell him that. He did not need to do much as of yet, but it seemed like the alternative seeker was getting some attention. Twice? That was great and all, but Blake had done similarly at the start. Look at him now.

 

[Penny Wills]

Penny took off on her broom and headed straight for the first bludger she saw. She lifted her bat in anticipation of a heavy whack yet missed entirely. The force of her targetless swing almost brought her off her broom. She composed herself quickly and looked around awkwardly to see if anyone had witnessed that. She hoped they were too focused on the two seekers to notice her.

 

[Paige Thompson]

Paige smirked at Blake's reaction, almost wanting to see him try to bench her. She continued her hunt for bludgers, eager to hit as many people as possible since that was the task given to her.

 

[Jasper Night]

Once Jasper had arrived, it didn't take long for practice to begin. Blake spoke to them, reminding them that they were champions and that the had to plya as a team. Jasper was a bit surprised by the whole speech, as it wasn't terrible. Jasper rolled his eyes when Blake went on to talk about being a chaser, as if he knew anything about that. But well, maybe the new chasers would need the reminder. Once the practice started, Jasper grabbed the quaffle and headed to the goal posts, looking around for the other chasers on the way. He saw the new guy caught the snitch twice, but knew that it was likely just luck. Though he wondered how Blake was feeling.

 

[Daintree Vaskevold]

Daintree was a little surprised by the speech given by the captain, it was just very full on. He wasn't sure it worked but as he flew up, he was surprised with how quickly the new seeker seemed to manage to catch the snitch, that seemed wild, but clearly once Blake left they'd still have a chance at winning. He ignored it and instead just focusing on finding bludgers.

 

[Liusaidh Styx]

Liusaidh was disappointed when she hadn't managed to get the quaffle when it was thrown up, but she followed behind the way old boy who had the quaffle. She was maybe flying a little more aggressively than she needed to considering they were in theory teammates but she didn't really care. She hadn't listened to the speech given anyway.