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Govoni · 05-17-2018, 01:45 AM

What was most scary for the smaller Hufflepuff, was the beginning stages of the obstacle course, where he actually had to carry (AND THROW???) a quaffle. That probably didn't seem as daunting to his potential teammates, but...he didn't have a ton of luck (or confidence) where the red balls were concerned. In his early training, Aaron had missed them entirely, getting pummeled in the face by quaffles he failed to catch. Honestly, this had happened on more than one occasion. He'd even had his nose broken a few times..

He hadn't cried...much.

So, knowing what was waiting for him past the barriers definitely affected his performance on them. He'd followed Miss Bel's instructions, at least... staying low and not letting his nerves initiate fight or flight where he might've bolted overhead.... No, but mistakes were made. He'd harshly bumped his leg on one barrier due to over-correction, and nearly zoomed right into another just after. When the leg started to throb, Aaron let out an exaggerated, dramatic sigh. That would definitely bruise; and yes, he KNEW he was being too careful, and not letting his instincts guide him safely through. He needed to trust himself, and chill his roll since quaffles weren't being thrown at him yet, but... Could he just...skip this part and go straight to hitting things with a beater's bat? It was leagues less stressful.

...and quaffle!time was upon him.

Blowing out a breath, he stopped just above the pile of red balls; eyeing them with trepidation. As long as he didn't have to fuddle around with them every time, Aaron thought this could maybe be okay. After all, all he had to do was toss it at the rings and try to score. That was it. No thinking about Miss Bel trying to score on him on the other side of the pitch. No thinking about that at all, cause it was mildly self-sabotaging. With a heavy breath, he pushed the longer broom down to collect one of the balls, fumbling it at first.

...And then a few times more.

......They weren't even the worst ones. How could be be so okay with bludgers and not quaffles?! It made little sense!

Squaring his shoulders, he finally managed to collect one, tucking it between his elbow and side as he'd seen West do on multiple occasions, and then flew up to hover in front of the rings. Pulling himself up a bit straighter, he focused on the left most ring, putting all his strength behind the quaffle as he haphazardly threw it the short distance. It sailed through (just barely), uncontested...and Aaron cheered in celebration! One quaffle interaction down. Three more to go. With a smile, he turned the broom around, darting towards the magicked rings. That was awful clever of Miss Bel, and safer for his frayed nerves. He only needed to get through this first attempt. The next one would be much better. How could it be worse?..... Well, he could've fell. That would've been worse.

Inhaling deeply, and then exhaling all the negative thoughts and energy, Aaron began. These rings weren't solid and.... just maybe, he'd been a bit sloppy with more than a few of them, but flattening himself against the wood of the handle really helped! It made him even smaller, and faster. That was actually tricky for him considering that West was so much taller than he was, but...he was managing the broom length. After some more maneuvering, he finally shot from the last ring and hurtled himself towards the hoops on the other side... Unease settled on his stomach, as he carefully positioned himself in front of the center golden ring. Miss Bel was going to throw a quaffle soon and he'd need to be ready. He could do this. He only needed to pay attention and focus on blocking the red ball. Not catching it. Maybe.... that would make the difference? When you're blocking something, you could punch, kick... do whatever...right? Yasss.... AND HE'D GET TO COLLECT A BAT JUST AFTER.

Whew, okay. HE WAS READY, but....apparently, his assessment that Keeper wouldn't have been for him was correct. He'd stayed grounded at the middle ring, eyes darting to and fro as their Captain approached. He only needed to anticipate her movements, but she was a fast girl on her broom and really, he'd stood no chance against her zeroing in a his weak spots and ultimately scoring.... And yeah, they were just going to ignore the way he'd SCREAMED when the quaffle was actually thrown. Well.... whatever. Put a bat in his hand and he'd be set. Mhm, and he'd just collected a school one. EEEEEEE. He felt complete. With a huge grin on his face, Aaron took a few test swings. This bat was a bit smaller than the one he'd used at home, but it would do. With the quaffle business behind him for now, the Botros kid raced towards the marshmallows, happily smacking the first one that neared him off course. Ahhh, that felt good. It felt so good, in fact, that he wasted no time in darting towards the next one, giving it he same treatment. If his form looked familiar, it was because Hassan had taught him how to play the Beater position. And Aaron had definitely gotten this skill from his cousin.

He'd thrown himself into it like a human bludger, artfully smacking out at any small ball of fluff he saw. LUCK WAS ON HIS SIDE, as it took very little time and before he knew it, he was across the finish line!

THAT...was the confidence boost he needed! Obstacle course, TAKE TWO!

Circling back around on his broom (and woefully discarding the bat), Aaron weaved himself through the barriers much more easily (and not so careful) this time. His leg still smarted, but there would be time later to soothe it. If it was a good tryout, he'd be completely sore from it. That's what he'd been told. So.... He was kinda already there, yeah?

He still fumbled the quaffle at first, but he eventually got it in his grasp. Repeating the elbow!tucking, Aaron soared up to hover in front of the hoops again. This time when he hefted it in, the red ball bounced off the side of the ring...still making it in but...just barely. The small Hufflepuff expelled a breath. And that was why he was not going out for Chaser. Heh, that would've been a messy at full speed. Anyway... moving on to those clever coronas, Miss Bel had called them. He managed to maneuver his body through the rings of light this time with little fuss. He may have clipped the tail of his broom on one or two, but... Aaron was just going to be grateful he felt better about going into the Keeper section. Their Captain was good, and Aaron doubted he'd be able to block her second attempt on him, but Beaters didn't have to worry about this type of thing.

He was less tense this time, hovering in front of the rings with an almost!smile. He'd probably always experience nerves when quaffles were getting thrown in his direction, but he figured if he was on the team as a Beater, he just could "beat" them away. Like in stick ball games. Maybe he should've kept that bat in hand....

Miss Bel went for a different approach this time, circling the hoops and then diving to finally toss the quaffle. Aaron, again, tried to anticipate her movements. It was confusing, because she was a Seeker and had that speed on her side. He could be fast, too... However, he wasn't a match for her. She went low, and when he tried to match her, she pushed up and the quaffle flew right over his shoulder..... Well, he wasn't a Keeper. So.

Aaron didn't dwell. HIS FAVORITE PART WAS UP NEXT. Flying low to collect another bat, the Hufflepuff was gleeful to hurtle himself towards the marshmallows once more. They were like clouds, kinda, and knocking them about wasn't as satisfying as TWACKING! actual bludgers would be. In fact, he darted around a bit, hitting them away, and then moving to hit them back so they didn't explode on his potential teammates. With a last smack, he flew off to the finish line!

VICTORY SCREECH!!!!!

Now... some water. Yasss!

05-17-2018, 01:45 AM	#58 (permalink)
Govoni MO & DMLE Blast-Ended Skrewt Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Dragonstone Posts: 15,583 Hogwarts RPG Name: Lyric Bayliss-Black Slytherin Fourth Year x12 x12	(obstacle course catchup) Zombie Apocalypse Team Leader ★ ★ in a crown of pepperoni and artisan cheese What was most scary for the smaller Hufflepuff, was the beginning stages of the obstacle course, where he actually had to carry (AND THROW???) a quaffle. That probably didn't seem as daunting to his potential teammates, but...he didn't have a ton of luck (or confidence) where the red balls were concerned. In his early training, Aaron had missed them entirely, getting pummeled in the face by quaffles he failed to catch. Honestly, this had happened on more than one occasion. He'd even had his nose broken a few times.. He hadn't cried...much. So, knowing what was waiting for him past the barriers definitely affected his performance on them. He'd followed Miss Bel's instructions, at least... staying low and not letting his nerves initiate fight or flight where he might've bolted overhead.... No, but mistakes were made. He'd harshly bumped his leg on one barrier due to over-correction, and nearly zoomed right into another just after. When the leg started to throb, Aaron let out an exaggerated, dramatic sigh. That would definitely bruise; and yes, he KNEW he was being too careful, and not letting his instincts guide him safely through. He needed to trust himself, and chill his roll since quaffles weren't being thrown at him yet, but... Could he just...skip this part and go straight to hitting things with a beater's bat? It was leagues less stressful. ...and quaffle!time was upon him. Blowing out a breath, he stopped just above the pile of red balls; eyeing them with trepidation. As long as he didn't have to fuddle around with them every time, Aaron thought this could maybe be okay. After all, all he had to do was toss it at the rings and try to score. That was it. No thinking about Miss Bel trying to score on him on the other side of the pitch. No thinking about that at all, cause it was mildly self-sabotaging. With a heavy breath, he pushed the longer broom down to collect one of the balls, fumbling it at first. ...And then a few times more. ......They weren't even the worst ones. How could be be so okay with bludgers and not quaffles?! It made little sense! Squaring his shoulders, he finally managed to collect one, tucking it between his elbow and side as he'd seen West do on multiple occasions, and then flew up to hover in front of the rings. Pulling himself up a bit straighter, he focused on the left most ring, putting all his strength behind the quaffle as he haphazardly threw it the short distance. It sailed through (just barely), uncontested...and Aaron cheered in celebration! One quaffle interaction down. Three more to go. With a smile, he turned the broom around, darting towards the magicked rings. That was awful clever of Miss Bel, and safer for his frayed nerves. He only needed to get through this first attempt. The next one would be much better. How could it be worse?..... Well, he could've fell. That would've been worse. Inhaling deeply, and then exhaling all the negative thoughts and energy, Aaron began. These rings weren't solid and.... just maybe, he'd been a bit sloppy with more than a few of them, but flattening himself against the wood of the handle really helped! It made him even smaller, and faster. That was actually tricky for him considering that West was so much taller than he was, but...he was managing the broom length. After some more maneuvering, he finally shot from the last ring and hurtled himself towards the hoops on the other side... Unease settled on his stomach, as he carefully positioned himself in front of the center golden ring. Miss Bel was going to throw a quaffle soon and he'd need to be ready. He could do this. He only needed to pay attention and focus on blocking the red ball. Not catching it. Maybe.... that would make the difference? When you're blocking something, you could punch, kick... do whatever...right? Yasss.... AND HE'D GET TO COLLECT A BAT JUST AFTER. Whew, okay. HE WAS READY, but....apparently, his assessment that Keeper wouldn't have been for him was correct. He'd stayed grounded at the middle ring, eyes darting to and fro as their Captain approached. He only needed to anticipate her movements, but she was a fast girl on her broom and really, he'd stood no chance against her zeroing in a his weak spots and ultimately scoring.... And yeah, they were just going to ignore the way he'd SCREAMED when the quaffle was actually thrown. Well.... whatever. Put a bat in his hand and he'd be set. Mhm, and he'd just collected a school one. EEEEEEE. He felt complete. With a huge grin on his face, Aaron took a few test swings. This bat was a bit smaller than the one he'd used at home, but it would do. With the quaffle business behind him for now, the Botros kid raced towards the marshmallows, happily smacking the first one that neared him off course. Ahhh, that felt good. It felt so good, in fact, that he wasted no time in darting towards the next one, giving it he same treatment. If his form looked familiar, it was because Hassan had taught him how to play the Beater position. And Aaron had definitely gotten this skill from his cousin. He'd thrown himself into it like a human bludger, artfully smacking out at any small ball of fluff he saw. LUCK WAS ON HIS SIDE, as it took very little time and before he knew it, he was across the finish line! THAT...was the confidence boost he needed! Obstacle course, TAKE TWO! Circling back around on his broom (and woefully discarding the bat), Aaron weaved himself through the barriers much more easily (and not so careful) this time. His leg still smarted, but there would be time later to soothe it. If it was a good tryout, he'd be completely sore from it. That's what he'd been told. So.... He was kinda already there, yeah? He still fumbled the quaffle at first, but he eventually got it in his grasp. Repeating the elbow!tucking, Aaron soared up to hover in front of the hoops again. This time when he hefted it in, the red ball bounced off the side of the ring...still making it in but...just barely. The small Hufflepuff expelled a breath. And that was why he was not going out for Chaser. Heh, that would've been a messy at full speed. Anyway... moving on to those clever coronas, Miss Bel had called them. He managed to maneuver his body through the rings of light this time with little fuss. He may have clipped the tail of his broom on one or two, but... Aaron was just going to be grateful he felt better about going into the Keeper section. Their Captain was good, and Aaron doubted he'd be able to block her second attempt on him, but Beaters didn't have to worry about this type of thing. He was less tense this time, hovering in front of the rings with an almost!smile. He'd probably always experience nerves when quaffles were getting thrown in his direction, but he figured if he was on the team as a Beater, he just could "beat" them away. Like in stick ball games. Maybe he should've kept that bat in hand.... Miss Bel went for a different approach this time, circling the hoops and then diving to finally toss the quaffle. Aaron, again, tried to anticipate her movements. It was confusing, because she was a Seeker and had that speed on her side. He could be fast, too... However, he wasn't a match for her. She went low, and when he tried to match her, she pushed up and the quaffle flew right over his shoulder..... Well, he wasn't a Keeper. So. Aaron didn't dwell. HIS FAVORITE PART WAS UP NEXT. Flying low to collect another bat, the Hufflepuff was gleeful to hurtle himself towards the marshmallows once more. They were like clouds, kinda, and knocking them about wasn't as satisfying as TWACKING! actual bludgers would be. In fact, he darted around a bit, hitting them away, and then moving to hit them back so they didn't explode on his potential teammates. With a last smack, he flew off to the finish line! VICTORY SCREECH!!!!! Now... some water. Yasss! __________________ We live in cities you'll *never* see onscreen..._______________________________________________ So very pretty, and we sure know how to run things..._______________________________ Livin' in ruins of a *palace, within our dreams...____________ We're on each other's team*._____