SnitchSeeker.com - View Single Post - Flying Lesson 2

Felixir · 07-03-2021, 04:47 PM

As with any activity in any lesson, this could go anywhere, but Kamran liked to think the students were willing to stay on task and on track. He'd introduced the component of throwing the balls, of course, and maybe that wouldn't end so well, but being overcautious and assuming the worst would get them nowhere.

It started off fine. Kamran flew around the perimeter himself, where he was unlikely to get pelted with the foam balls, seeing as he needed to keep an eye on the students. They were improving every day, but that was to be expected from those who stuck with it. Donovan, for example, was making steady progress and doing a good job of not getting out of her depth. Turov as well, though she was always fairly at home on a broom, and he expected this kind of thing to come easily enough to her. Gaeltheos was another making improvements - sure, she hadn't tried to catch the ball that flew at her, but dodging was equally acceptable. The mini-dive that ensued was a good show of how she'd improved her skills; he made a mental note to mention it next time he had the opportunity. Nam was coming along in leaps and bounds, and it seemed as though Blaze was offering her advice too, which was always encouraged.

He had noted some decent flying all around, but soon his attention was drawn elsewhere. Kamran hadn't caught the start of the interaction - he was more focused on watching the flying, not eavesdropping on conversations halfway across the green - but Gellar's exclamation rang through the area, and Kamran still had eyes on her when she threw the ball with such aggression. It clearly wasn't supposed to hit James, but it had, and would have hit Blaze otherwise. The Gryffindor seemed to be okay - these weren't exactly dangerous projectiles - but that made no difference to Kamran.

All in all, it wasn't such a major issue, but he'd been very clear in his instructions. Others were starting to chime in, and Kamran noticed Blackthorne seemed ready to put herself into the situation, and he might have thought Jones would interject too, if he didn't know the boy to be the sort who respected instructions and rules.

Before it could go any further - Gellar was clearly the reactive type - Kamran gave a short blast of his whistle and flew into the midst of the students. "Enough," he called out, his voice ringing around the area, though in projection rather than anger. All who'd sent glares or looks or comments to anyone else received a quick look of warning, but it was the first year he spoke to directly. "Five points from Slytherin, Miss Gellar, and you will stay behind to talk with me after class. I was very clear about what I would not tolerate." And they would discuss it, but not in front of everyone else.

_____

Speaking of, Kamran beckoned them all in, ready to continue this lesson while they all hovered in the air. While he waited for the students to gather, he drew his wand and sent the balls back to the ground, then Summoned a basket from the ground, which zoomed up to hover beside him.

"Good flying, everyone. For this last activity, we'll be putting those reactions to the test." Moving onwards. Also upwards. Some of them were going to hate this, and maybe hate him for it, but that was fine. "As we covered earlier, one way of protecting yourself in a fall is using a spell, either to Summon your broom back to you, or to soften the ground, or slow your descent, plenty of possibilities. To reiterate, I'm not teaching you these spells, you won't even have to cast anything today; we're focusing on technique."

He pointed upwards, towards the next. "You're all going to fly around up above the net, and then fall or bail off your broom. Before you hit the net, draw your wand, and practice a spell that would save you - shout the incantation, and perform the wand movement, same as if you were doing it for real. For this lesson, I have fake wands in this basket so you won't risk damage to your own as you fall. You are focusing on your reaction times, and learning to think fast even while falling. It may take a few tries to adjust to it. Once you've hit the net, bounce out of the way and towards me to collect your broom, and have another go when your next turn comes."

He said it all very matter-of-factly, despite knowing how hesitant some of his students might be about this. In Kamran's experience, sugarcoating the explanation might make any number of them feel like there was something they ought to be anxious about. And there wasn't.

"If you feel confident that you can actually cast a spell to stop your fall, and want to practice, you are welcome to do so, but I'd prefer if you used a spell like Accio or Arresto Momentum so I can see the effects clearly. You'll need to use your own wand to do this, and anyone who chooses to pass on the fake wands should be know that you are taking responsibility for any potential damages." Disclaimer. Bolded, underlined, italicised. Fair warning. Not liable for broken wands. "If you'd like to up the difficulty in other ways, you can experiment with height and speed, or do some more daring flying than you're used to and try to trigger a real fall - this is a controlled environment and the net will be there to catch you. I'll be keeping an eye out as well."

Was that everything? Maybe? Maybe. Probably. "No more than two students flying and falling at a time, and spread apart to avoid any collisions. Be mindful of people waiting their turn, don't be all day about it. I'd like to see everyone fall off their broom at least once."

Hm. Phrasing.

... Never mind. "Collect a fake wand if you need one, then get up there and start falling." He gave another shrill blast of his whistle. Get to it.

OOC: Activity part the second is up. The instructions, to clarify:

- Fly around above the net (it spans almost the entire area, plenty of space), and then fall or bail off the broom
- Before hitting the net, draw a wand (fake wands provided), and practice casting a spell to slow or prevent the fall, use a verbal incantation
__- For added difficulty, fly in such a way as to trigger a real fall, or experiment with different heights and speeds
__- For added difficulty, they can draw their actual wand and cast a spell for real - if they break it, that's on them
- Bounce off the net if they hit it, and collect their broom from Kamran, who is Summoning them back before they fly away or get damaged (I'll be posting, but feel free to say he handed it over so you're not waiting on me)
- Repeated attempts encouraged; everyone should try once
- There should be no serious injuries, and Kamran will be watching out for any awkward falls, but beyond that have fun with it
- Go ahead and pretend it's your characters turn, no need to wait around

As always, do ask for clarification if anything is unclear. I'll be around. You'll have at least 72 hours for this (I plan to wrap up sometime on 6th July).

07-03-2021, 04:47 PM	#50 (permalink)
Felixir Book Club Mod Alley Proprietor Banshee Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Posts: 50,131 Hogwarts RPG Name: Charlie Upstead Gryffindor Fifth Year Hogwarts RPG Name: Aurelio Kaiser Slytherin Third Year Diagon Alley Proprietor: Ezekiel Ransom-Kruus Ollivanders x12 x12	Lovely™ \| Captain Hurted \| Ariana's Bane \| Resident Antagonist \| Unparalleled Delight As with any activity in any lesson, this could go anywhere, but Kamran liked to think the students were willing to stay on task and on track. He'd introduced the component of throwing the balls, of course, and maybe that wouldn't end so well, but being overcautious and assuming the worst would get them nowhere. It started off fine. Kamran flew around the perimeter himself, where he was unlikely to get pelted with the foam balls, seeing as he needed to keep an eye on the students. They were improving every day, but that was to be expected from those who stuck with it. Donovan, for example, was making steady progress and doing a good job of not getting out of her depth. Turov as well, though she was always fairly at home on a broom, and he expected this kind of thing to come easily enough to her. Gaeltheos was another making improvements - sure, she hadn't tried to catch the ball that flew at her, but dodging was equally acceptable. The mini-dive that ensued was a good show of how she'd improved her skills; he made a mental note to mention it next time he had the opportunity. Nam was coming along in leaps and bounds, and it seemed as though Blaze was offering her advice too, which was always encouraged. He had noted some decent flying all around, but soon his attention was drawn elsewhere. Kamran hadn't caught the start of the interaction - he was more focused on watching the flying, not eavesdropping on conversations halfway across the green - but Gellar's exclamation rang through the area, and Kamran still had eyes on her when she threw the ball with such aggression. It clearly wasn't supposed to hit James, but it had, and would have hit Blaze otherwise. The Gryffindor seemed to be okay - these weren't exactly dangerous projectiles - but that made no difference to Kamran. All in all, it wasn't such a major issue, but he'd been very clear in his instructions. Others were starting to chime in, and Kamran noticed Blackthorne seemed ready to put herself into the situation, and he might have thought Jones would interject too, if he didn't know the boy to be the sort who respected instructions and rules. Before it could go any further - Gellar was clearly the reactive type - Kamran gave a short blast of his whistle and flew into the midst of the students. "Enough," he called out, his voice ringing around the area, though in projection rather than anger. All who'd sent glares or looks or comments to anyone else received a quick look of warning, but it was the first year he spoke to directly. "Five points from Slytherin, Miss Gellar, and you will stay behind to talk with me after class. I was very clear about what I would not tolerate." And they would discuss it, but not in front of everyone else. _____ Speaking of, Kamran beckoned them all in, ready to continue this lesson while they all hovered in the air. While he waited for the students to gather, he drew his wand and sent the balls back to the ground, then Summoned a basket from the ground, which zoomed up to hover beside him. "Good flying, everyone. For this last activity, we'll be putting those reactions to the test." Moving onwards. Also upwards. Some of them were going to hate this, and maybe hate him for it, but that was fine. "As we covered earlier, one way of protecting yourself in a fall is using a spell, either to Summon your broom back to you, or to soften the ground, or slow your descent, plenty of possibilities. To reiterate, I'm not teaching you these spells, you won't even have to cast anything today; we're focusing on technique." He pointed upwards, towards the next. "You're all going to fly around up above the net, and then fall or bail off your broom. Before you hit the net, draw your wand, and practice a spell that would save you - shout the incantation, and perform the wand movement, same as if you were doing it for real. For this lesson, I have fake wands in this basket so you won't risk damage to your own as you fall. You are focusing on your reaction times, and learning to think fast even while falling. It may take a few tries to adjust to it. Once you've hit the net, bounce out of the way and towards me to collect your broom, and have another go when your next turn comes." He said it all very matter-of-factly, despite knowing how hesitant some of his students might be about this. In Kamran's experience, sugarcoating the explanation might make any number of them feel like there was something they ought to be anxious about. And there wasn't. "If you feel confident that you can actually cast a spell to stop your fall, and want to practice, you are welcome to do so, but I'd prefer if you used a spell like Accio or Arresto Momentum so I can see the effects clearly. You'll need to use your own wand to do this, and anyone who chooses to pass on the fake wands should be know that you are taking responsibility for any potential damages." Disclaimer. Bolded, underlined, italicised. Fair warning. Not liable for broken wands. "If you'd like to up the difficulty in other ways, you can experiment with height and speed, or do some more daring flying than you're used to and try to trigger a real fall - this is a controlled environment and the net will be there to catch you. I'll be keeping an eye out as well." Was that everything? Maybe? Maybe. Probably. "No more than two students flying and falling at a time, and spread apart to avoid any collisions. Be mindful of people waiting their turn, don't be all day about it. I'd like to see everyone fall off their broom at least once." Hm. Phrasing. ... Never mind. "Collect a fake wand if you need one, then get up there and start falling." He gave another shrill blast of his whistle. Get to it. OOC: Activity part the second is up. The instructions, to clarify: - Fly around above the net (it spans almost the entire area, plenty of space), and then fall or bail off the broom - Before hitting the net, draw a wand (fake wands provided), and practice casting a spell to slow or prevent the fall, use a verbal incantation __- For added difficulty, fly in such a way as to trigger a real fall, or experiment with different heights and speeds __- For added difficulty, they can draw their actual wand and cast a spell for real - if they break it, that's on them - Bounce off the net if they hit it, and collect their broom from Kamran, who is Summoning them back before they fly away or get damaged (I'll be posting, but feel free to say he handed it over so you're not waiting on me) - Repeated attempts encouraged; everyone should try once - There should be no serious injuries, and Kamran will be watching out for any awkward falls, but beyond that have fun with it - Go ahead and pretend it's your characters turn, no need to wait around As always, do ask for clarification if anything is unclear. I'll be around. You'll have at least 72 hours for this (I plan to wrap up sometime on 6th July). __________________ Days of Potter 2023:___________________________ Which Bertie Botts Flavour Are You? You are Chocolate!