Everything begins midair. On a broom, thankfully, not falling or anything, but still dozens of feet above the ground, bobbing lazily on a stick. Most of a Quidditch pitch can be seen from here, the grass a little greener and the stands a lot shinier than what Peckenpaugh has to offer. Birds chirp somewhere nearby, probably because this, the sky, is supposed to be their domain.
"Ready for it, Cloudy?" A young man hovering nearby knocks into the memory holder with his shoulder. He's handsome and athletic, and though he's not familiar, there's something in his eyes reminiscent of Claudia Vega.
"I'm ready to kick butts, Teo." The voice is a little young, a little more filled with hope and optimism, but it's definitely Claudia.
"They're hazing you, not testing you, there's no winning." Teo laughs, but his tone warm. Someone behind him blows a whistle, a shrill blast that echoes through the entire fancy Quidditch pitch.
"Not with that attitude," Claudia calls out as Teo backs away from her. "Bet if I catch the Snitch they'll make me first string Seeker."
"Yeah, and if you catch a Bludger they'll carry you out of here on their shoulders."
The jolt of excitement that shoots through Claudia Vega's entire mind at that idea is tangible. Even Teo seems to sense it, sputtering as the whistle blasts again. "Cloudy, don't you dare actually—"
"Vega! And Vega!" As Teo backs away, Claudia can see more people on brooms waiting several feet away, all of them are holding a ball. No, several balls. The burly senior with the whistle palms a red dodgeball and smiles just a little dangerously. "Everyone to positions!"
"Aye aye, Captain!" Claudia throws her hand up in a salute and takes position in front of the goals. Tense. Focused. Waiting, her entire core tightened and engaged just to keep her from teetering. Just outside the scoring zone, an entire Quidditch team worth of people readies their ammunition.
Once more, the sound of a whistle rings out, and every flyer lets loose a ball. They barely even have them out of their hands before the whistle signals another wave, and then another.
Claudia doesn't waste a moment looking for the most dangerous target up there. The Bludger zips toward the goal and she throws herself to the right, locking her knees around the broom and trusting a little too much in her own conditioning to keep her airborne.
And before a single ball can hit home, everything freezes. Claudia hangs, mostly horizontal, while waves of balls hang in the air. There's the big red dodgeball and a volleyball with a face, a golf ball and a medicine ball, a Snitch and a quod, and they're all good and stuck there. No matter how hard you pull or how much weight you put on them, these balls ain't going nowhere.
MEMORY: Sports Ball
[CRITERIA: Defeat NPC, Find Linchpin]
[RESEREVE: Jupiter Quigley, Trudy McGilliguddy]
Everything begins midair. On a broom, thankfully, not falling or anything, but still dozens of feet above the ground, bobbing lazily on a stick. Most of a Quidditch pitch can be seen from here, the grass a little greener and the stands a lot shinier than what Peckenpaugh has to offer. Birds chirp somewhere nearby, probably because this, the sky, is supposed to be their domain.
"Ready for it, Cloudy?" A young man hovering nearby knocks into the memory holder with his shoulder. He's handsome and athletic, and though he's not familiar, there's something in his eyes reminiscent of Claudia Vega.
"I'm ready to kick butts, Teo." The voice is a little young, a little more filled with hope and optimism, but it's definitely Claudia.
"They're hazing you, not testing you, there's no winning." Teo laughs, but his tone warm. Someone behind him blows a whistle, a shrill blast that echoes through the entire fancy Quidditch pitch.
"Not with that attitude," Claudia calls out as Teo backs away from her. "Bet if I catch the Snitch they'll make me first string Seeker."
"Yeah, and if you catch a Bludger they'll carry you out of here on their shoulders."
The jolt of excitement that shoots through Claudia Vega's entire mind at that idea is tangible. Even Teo seems to sense it, sputtering as the whistle blasts again. "Cloudy, don't you dare actually—"
"Vega! And Vega!" As Teo backs away, Claudia can see more people on brooms waiting several feet away, all of them are holding a ball. No, several balls. The burly senior with the whistle palms a red dodgeball and smiles just a little dangerously. "Everyone to positions!"
"Aye aye, Captain!" Claudia throws her hand up in a salute and takes position in front of the goals. Tense. Focused. Waiting, her entire core tightened and engaged just to keep her from teetering. Just outside the scoring zone, an entire Quidditch team worth of people readies their ammunition.
Once more, the sound of a whistle rings out, and every flyer lets loose a ball. They barely even have them out of their hands before the whistle signals another wave, and then another.
Claudia doesn't waste a moment looking for the most dangerous target up there. The Bludger zips toward the goal and she throws herself to the right, locking her knees around the broom and trusting a little too much in her own conditioning to keep her airborne.
And before a single ball can hit home, everything freezes. Claudia hangs, mostly horizontal, while waves of balls hang in the air. There's the big red dodgeball and a volleyball with a face, a golf ball and a medicine ball, a Snitch and a quod, and they're all good and stuck there. No matter how hard you pull or how much weight you put on them, these balls ain't going nowhere.