Open Well Needed Fresh Air

[Branson Archer]

Branson was trying to keep the balance between his work, the monthly and quidditch, he liked doing all of them, and really none of what he did was particularly hard, but he had to just work at them all. The quidditch season had ended and Branson was working quite hard on the other elements of his school life, but his bored was tired of just sitting around and the only break being the run he had in the morning. It kept him active but he knew he needed more, so after classes that day he had stopped by the dorm, dumped all his school gear and switched it out for flying stuff. He had his broom next to him and began to do some stretches. There was a low sun hanging in the air, and a light cool breeze, perfect conditions for flying. There didn't appear to be another soul there, but he was sure others would soon also be outside. It didn't matter it was good to have others around. ​

 

[Nikko Blackwood]

Nikko was feeling a little down after the lose against Hufflepuff. It didn't sting as much as the lose last year now that he wasn't so hurt over Connor. But he was still sad they were out of the running for the final again. Now that the end of the year was on the horizon he wanted to get in some extra practice before he went home and would be broom-less for weeks. He made his way to the pitch hoping for some peace and quiet but apparently he wasn't the only one with extra practice in mind. He recognized one of the Ravenclaw chasers getting ready. He waved over to the boy and gave him a small smile. "Getting some post season practice in?" he asked and looked around quickly to see if there was anyone else around that he might be there with. But the pitch looked completely empty besides them so he shrugged. "We can work together if you'd like." he suggested. Of all the people to practice with a chaser would at least be the most useful.

 

[Branson Archer]

Branson spotted the slightly older boy as he approached him. He recognised him, the gryffindor keeper and a great keeper at that, though his name was somewhere currently escaping him. Names didn't really matter though, "Yeah, good way to de-stress when studying," Bran replied with a little smile. He glanced around the pitch which was empty bar them and then nodded. "Yeah, that would probably be useful for us," Branson said with a tone of agreement. it was more useful to fly around and practice with a keeper whom he could practice against and the same the other way round for this boy. "I'm ready to go if you are?" he had of course been stretching but he'd just about finished that anyway. ​

 

[Nikko Blackwood]

Nikko nodded in agreement with the younger boy's statement. More often than no he blew off studying in favor of getting in extra practice but he wasn't about to get into that. "Kind of the perfect combo." he agreed with a little laugh. There was a part of him that felt a bit funny practicing with someone from a different house but it wasn't like they were about to play against each other any time soon now that the season was effectively over. "Sure thing." he said with a thumbs up and kicked off into the air and took up position in front of the southern hoops. He kept his eye on the Ravenclaw to see what he would do next.

 

[Branson Archer]

Branson took one of the quaffles and tucked it under his arm as he flew up into the air. He watched as the boy moved to be at the southern hoops and then flew over to him. Visibly on Branson's face he was trying to figure out the best way for them to go about it. He knew that he'd never have such a clean path to the hoops, so he wasn't sure he should focus on improving his throw and aim just with minimal movment or improving his ability to throw when going at speed. In the end he decided on the former. It seemed kinder. Branson leaned back in his broom and just held the ball lightly. From his position, his near stationery position he threw the quaffle hard towards the centre hoop, the throw itself was on target but he knew it would be easy for the other boy to catch and Bran was realising perhaps it would be better to be moving a little, to at least make it more realistic. ​

 

[Nikko Blackwood]

Nikko hovered in front of the hoops and waited to see what he would do. It was just the two of them out there and he didn't have anything else to keep his eye on except the quaffle. It did feel a little underwhelming compared to a game or even practice. He watched as the chaser stopped and threw the quaffle. Nikko had been about half way between the center and left hoop and he had to dive to catch the ball just before it went through the hoops. "Good shot." he said encouragingly. He had been going up against Sully and Chloe for so long he nearly forgot what it was like to black a goal. But he didn't want the younger boy to get discouraged. "You should try looking at one hoop and throwing it through another. It get's really hard to tell where you're aiming and I have to be faster." he suggested. Part of him knew he shouldn't be helping but he couldn't really help it.

 

[Branson Archer]

Branson wasn't too surprised when the keeper caught the ball. He hadn't thrown it particularly well. He nodded at the advice since it was pretty fair. He thought it would be more difficult to pull off while moving quickly, but he knew that the gryffindor had had the prospective of a keeper which he didn't have. He wouldn't know what it took, but This boy did. Bran nodded, "I'm Bran, by the way," he said, introducing himself though perhaps there would've been a better time for it. He was waiting for the other boy to pass him back the ball so he could have another go, so introductions seemed like a good to do. ​

 

[Nikko Blackwood]

Nikko grinned when the Ravenclaw boy introduced himself. He had gotten so caught up in practice that he hadn't even thought about that formality. "Nikko." he replied with a small laugh and tossed the ball back so Bran could try again. He started to question again, if helping the other team was a good idea or not. He shook his head. They were just playing for school teams at the end of the day. It wasn't like they were pros. A helpful tip here and there wouldn't change much, besides in the end it would make for a more interesting game. "So why did you choose chaser?" he asked.

 

[Branson Archer]

Branson nodded, Nikko. He grabbed the ball as it flew in the air, and considered what the boy had said. He looked between the hoops in his stationary position and flew in one direction parallel to the hoops before turning and flying the other way. After he reached the end hoop, which he was staring at he did a sharp turn and aimed for the hoop furtherest from him. It seemed to fly on target but Nikko might still catch it. "I like it," he replied to the question, it had been the position for him really. He wouldn't have enjoyed any of the other positions. "Why keeper?"​

 

[Nikko Blackwood]

Nikko watched Bran closely has he flew around the hoops getting ready to take his next shot. He wondered if the younger boy would take any of his advice? He got his answer when the Ravencalw did a misdirect and threw the quaffle through the far hoop. Nikko was quick and nearly caught the ball but it just slipped past his fingers. A moment later he caught the quaffle and threw it back. "Good job." he said before nodding at Brans answer. It made sense he guessed, sometimes things just make sense. Nikko let out a small chuckle when he was asked the same question. "Well I played goalie for my schools football team so keeper just kind of made sense." he explained.

 

[Branson Archer]

Branson was quite pleased at having made the shot, he might have to be quicker next time, since Nikko had almost got it, but he could appreciate what he'd just been taught. It was obvious when he thought about it, but he never considered it. "Oh that does make sense," he agreed, playing a keeper in a different sport probably meant having a lot of famailirity with that position elsewhere. "Which is easier?" he asked. With the ball still in hand he began flying a bit back to be able to aim the ball once again. He flew forward and was going towards the middle hoop, and at the last moment turned his broom to the right hoop and threw. The throw lacked power but was at least on aim. It was probably going a bit slow and was likely to get caught by Nikko. ​