Day of Rain Spectator Thread Closed

[font=century gothic]OPEN TO INTERACTION[/font]

The second game of the year was already upon them. It was no surprise, really. When one was played, the other followed shortly after. It had been more than a little bit of a nerve-racking experience being among the first players of the year to open the season during the Gryffindor game against Slytherin, and she wasn't quite sure if she'd fully recovered from the ordeal just yet. But bruises to body and ego aside, she wasn't about to allow herself to be anywhere else this day.

With the arrival of broom racing and duelling as alternative extra-curriculars, the rate of turnover in the various House Quidditch rosters had been unprecedented. Nearly everything that she'd taken care to document so carefully and painstakingly from the previous year was null and void. It was a new canvas. A new playing field. New players, new captains, and new strategies. She would effectively be starting from ground zero with her assessments and predictions, thus it was pertinent she miss none of the games.

Besides, she had another reason to be here this time. Well, two. For one, a certain individual had blipped back on to her radar. She wasn't exactly certain what to think about him yet, but couldn't see the hurt in watching him play. Perhaps even supporting him and his team given that they were up against the reigning champions. And if she happened to be able to glean out some insight into how to avoid his bludgers in future when it was his batting arm of which she, herself, would need be wary, then all the better.

And the other reason... The silver sheen of a near invisible umbrella erupting from the tip of her wand was held all the more aloft as she stood idly by the entrance of the pitch. Under normal circumstances, she'd have been quick to find herself a seat, to ensure she had as advantageous a spot as possible. Today, however, she was on the lookout for one individual in particular. The Headliner had recently acquired new writing talent in the form of one Thomas Lestrange. Of course, whether there was any talent to actually speak of was as yet in question; he had not been among those who had submitted articles for their first issue of the month. And either serendipitously, or perhaps as a stroke of ill fortune, she had been the editor assigned to him. This alone would have been reason enough to draw her curiosity and extend a thread of contact, but their meeting at the lake and the information she had received from Flash made it go beyond that. She wanted to keep an eye on him.

And just like that, as if on cue, the object of her curiosity arrived on site. Evelynn pushed off to pad after him at a distance. He had arrived quite alone, and by all appearances—with how he made his way to a withdrawn corner of one of the stands—with the intention to stay that way. Well, how unfortunate for him that she had other plans. As did another, by the looks of it. No sooner had Evelynn begun to pick her way through the crowd in the stands, than a certain blonde—blonde? What happened to the previously violently violet?—entered the scene just as the boy called out to a Whitey.

Momentary confusion had clouded Evelynn's features until she followed his gaze and made note of one of the players clad in yellow. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. Howard White. Dhampir. He'd been one of the ones that had sought out Professor Equinox for his daily feedings during the tail end of the previous year's tightened restrictions. What a dreadful nickname for him, she mused. Thought by just how pallid he appeared to be, practically a ghost amidst the downpour, perhaps it was apt.

Attention for the Hufflepuff dwindled as the blonde spoke up, however. A furtive glance cast towards the pair made note of the journal cradled in the boy's lap. And then the umbrella held by the Slytherin beater, one that had notably not been offered to Lestrange. Of course, given what the lion had seen of the two at the Blossom Ball, that didn't surprise her in the least. Still, she couldn't deny the curiosity of what exactly it was between the two that had led to such a blowout. Taking a step back, Evelynn settled herself onto a bench a little ways down with her own Pluvius unbrella protecting her from the worst of the rain. Not in the corner where the two interacted, but near enough to listen and far enough away that she should have enough time to retreat should things turn physical.

[font=century gothic]INTERACTIONS: n/a | MENTIONING: @Thomas Lestrange, @Erin Ryan, @Howard White

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Interacting with: @Thomas Baines
Mentions: @Elias Weare @Rosie Parker

Callie was quite used to Thomas and Elias constantly getting at each others throats by now but that didn't make his yelling any less annoying. Especially when the boy started yelling about the toilets where Callie had ended up breaking up a fight between the pair. "Shut up idiot! Don't make me grab your ear again!" Callie made sure to properly vocalise her annoyance by lightly kicking Thomas in the side of the leg. The pair may have been duelling partners but that wasn't going to stop Callie from lightly abusing him.

Shortly afterwards Callie similarly brought herself upwards to stand on the seat similarly to Thomas. "FORGET HIM, YOU GOT THIS ELIAS!" The tiny girl yelled with surprising force in the hopes that the boy would hear. Despite her general frustrations at Thomas verbally abusing Elias from the stands when he brought up the topic of how surprisingly interesting quidditch had become, Callie couldn't help but agree. So in spite of her previous light abuse of Thomas she firmly agreed with the boy and allowed a wide toothy grin to slip onto her face. "I know right? Who knew quidditch wasn't entirely suckish? Not me that's for sure!" Callie looked back out onto the quidditch pitch and attempted to make out whatever Elias seemed to be staring at. "Why's Elias staring at that weird looking Hufflepuff boy? Oooh wait is that Rosie?" Callie paused a minute to cup her hands around her mouth to act as a makeshift megaphone. "YOU'RE GOING TO LOSE ROSIE!"

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In her dormitory, Piper pulled on her extra pair of socks and her warmest school robes. The rain made splashing sounds on the top of the Great Lake and pounded on the castle. What miserable playing conditions, though the sound of rain was admittedly very calming. Piper had read about quidditch in her books. She was filled with curiosity at what Quidditch would be like - how did Wizarding sports work? Ensuring she had her wand on her, Piper made her way through the dungeon, up the stairs, and out the castle, headed for the pitch. She put her hood over her head as the rain splattered onto her head and the chill of the air turned her nose red. Shoes squishing in the wet grass, she speed-walked to the Quidditch Pitch, where players were already walking onto the pitch and a hundred students were watching, shielding their eyes from the rain.

Piper walked up the wooden stairs and took her place at a seat. It seemed Slytherins were generally grouped here. Good, she'd fit right in. Through the rain she had picked a good spot, close to the center of the pitch. She wondered who she would cheer for. Well, she'd cheer for no one, but she supposed she would want Ravenclaw to win. After all, it had been her first choice House. The players had now taken their positions on the pitch. Suddenly, Leo Vasquez began his commentary. This was fortunate, as Piper could not see much of anything.

The Quaffle was thrown into the air and the Chasers shot off, weaving and tossing to each other. Piper observed how they moved on their broomsticks, how the brooms moved and the balls were tossed. The Beaters hit Bludgers left and right, violently knocking several people aside. Good lord, how were they so violent? Bludgers should not be allowed, Piper decided, cringing. The Ravenclaw Keeper did well, blocking all goal attempts. Fortunately, the Hufflepuff Keeper missed once, giving Ravenclaw ten points. Piper grinned. Ten points on Ravenclaw's way to victory. The crowd hurt her ears as the Ravenclaws erupted into cheering. A few Slytherins around seemed to be talking more than watching the match, though a few were watching intently and cheering occasionally. There was less excitement in the air, probably hampered by the weather. Fair enough. Piper leaned forward in her seat. This turned out to be more exciting than anticipated, and Piper waited for the players' next moves.

Interacting with @Piper Clark
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Bolded Text: French | Regular Text: English

Fashionably late. That was how Florian liked to be and, unsure if there would be any other Beauxbaton students at the match, he figured it wouldn't matter. He was simply there to watch the best team in the interschool league play: Hufflepuff. One of his older brothers was on the Beauxbaton Quidditch team and he had told Florian stories of the skills that the Hufflepuff's at Hogwarts possessed. And now Florian got the chance to see it all in action. Of course, it just had to be downpouring rain, as the highlands were so famous for, and he was grateful he had brought his raincoat along. Wouldn't want to soak any of his good clothes, now would he.

He walked his way up the stands just as he heard a large cheer erupt from around him. 'It seems someone has scored...' he thought, as the announcer told the cheering crowd that Ravenclaw had scored. "Well, well, well... not off to a great start... are we Hufflepuff?" he mumbled as he continued to climb the stairs. He reached the top and surveyed his seating options. Well, it seemed like quite a few groups had formed, but there was a lovely girl sitting by herself, watching the game with her face cringing. 'Yes... Quidditch, like most wizard sports, was quite violent. Good thing they had a much quicker healing process than muggles. Yes, indeed.' He wondered if she was muggle-born because of her cringing, but he honestly didn't care about blood-status, it was much more about your class.

In the end, he decided she seemed like she would make good company, so he marched up to her in his confident stride and said, "Bonjour, Mademoiselle, may I join you?" with a clear French accent. "My name is Florian LeRoy, may I ask you yours?" he said while giving her a slight bow. He was certainly one for chivalry.

Interacting with @Starlee Kennedy
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As Piper watched the players dart around, someone spoke to her from behind. She nearly jumped a mile into the air when his French voice blotted out the chatter of the surrounding Slytherins. "Bonjour, Mademoiselle, may I join you? My name is Florian LeRoy, may I ask you yours?" Piper turned around slowly in time to see the boy give her a small bow. Was she in trouble? Wait, no. Wait. "Join...me?" Piper reached a soggy sleeve up to push her hood back a little further, to see. In the sea of black and darker color clothing stood a boy with the brightest red coat of all time. It shone with wetness from the rain, making the boy- Florian, look like a giant ruby in the middle of the crowd.

Florian had dark hair and looked at her expectantly for an answer. Piper wanted to disappear forever into her hood, sinking back. How would she fit in with someone wearing that? It could be seen from half a mile away. And a definite Beauxbatons boy, no less, judging by the French language, bow, and accent. (she had read all about foreign magical schools and their affiliation with Hogwarts. There, in fact, wasn't much she hadn't read about.) "You scared me, don't sneak up on people." she snapped after having nothing to say, regretting it almost instantly. He probably didn't deserve that.

Piper shook her head. "Uh...what I meant was...sure. Yeah, you can...sit here. I'm Clark Piper. I mean Piper Clark," she mumbled. She didn't want to be overly rude, but what was the nicest possible way to say I want to watch by myself so actually go away? There wasn't, really. The boy looked confident and enthusiastic. How in the world were people here so dang happy? She waited for his reaction. Maybe he would decide she was too unfriendly and leave.

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Interacting with: @Callie Jensen

As Callie chastised him, Thomas just laughed it off, but he ended up quieting down regardless. This was probably the happiest she had ever seen the boy, clearly the energy in the stands and the enthusiasm was infectious. It was hard to be stern and serious at a Quidditch match, Tommy discovered, and being able to boo cheer on people he recognized only made it more thrilling. Even if Elias was benched, the Ravenclaw was still shouting abuse his way, pumping his fist in the air and yelling in a way that seemed so alien for such a quiet, reserved, and serious student to be partaking in. "It's just a little fun, Callie! As for that Hufflepuff dude, I dunno... He's kinda weird looking, maybe that's why Elias is watching him." Thomas was referencing Reid Kovacs of course!

When the match began, Thomas piped down, attention still on the strange, fourth-year beater that Elias had been staring at from the bench. "He's fast. The guy Elias was staring at, anyway," he mumbled, watching the Hufflepuff smack the ever-loving CRAP out of Neculai, the Ravenclaw seeker. "JEEZ LOUISE, THAT WAS INSANE." Simply put, their team's seeker was obliterated almost immediately, and though Thomas didn't know most of the Quidditch rules he did know that that wasn't a great start to the match. Thankfully, if nothing else, they had a player on the second string who could jump in and fill the position.

Slowly, Thomas managed to follow the game's other events, noticing their team's score with a smile. He'd never been interested in Quidditch before, but the strategy required to keep a team of so many people synergized was fascinating. It tempted him to read up on the sport so he could school @Elias Weare later. As the thought crossed his mind, he raised his hands to cup the sides of his mouth, amplifying his voice only marginally with his makeshift megaphone. "HAH, HOPE YOU DON'T MEET THAT FATE, ELIIII," Thomas jeered, referencing the absolute annihilation of a certain Neculai Lazar. Was it in poor taste to make such jokes so soon after the seeker was taken out? Perhaps, but when had Thomas ever observed social norms?

Thomas may have laughed off Callie's complaints but she didn't really seem to notice nor get annoyed about it. The girl was much too focused on the match which Callie could barely keep up with. Why was there so many things going on at once? How did this make sense to anyone! Qudditch was so confusing! Oh wait, Thomas was speaking. Callie suddenly brought herself out of her quiddich related spiral and looked back to Thomas, still standing on top of the seat in order to see better. "Weird looking? That's not nice! Although he does look a little weird..oh no you're right. He is weird." Callie may not have ever met Reid Kovacs but something about the tiny dot that she could make out looked..strange. The poor girl didn't have brilliant eyesight afterall. "Maybe Elias likes staring at the weird guy because it reminds him of himself! Oh wait, these jokes aren't as funny when Elias isn't here. Darn it! Stupid benched Elias!"

Eventually Callie quietened down but she didn't get down from the top of the chair, having decided it was much easier to get a good view of what was going on from her newfound perch. While she may not have been entirely aware of what was going on Callie knew when someone got beat when she saw it, particularly when it came to Neculai. "OH MY GOD DID THAT GUY JUST KILL NUCULAI?" She exclaimed rather loudly, clearly unaware of what exactly was happening. The girl stood in relative silence for a while trying to figure out what was going on, only to have her train of thought interrupted by Thomas Baines. Pesky boy. "YEAH, DON'T MEET THAT KIND OF FATE ELI! THAT WOULD SUCK, ISN'T THAT RIGHT THOMAS?" Callie made sure to elbow Thomas in the side for good measure.

Interacting with @Piper Clark
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Bolded Text: French | Regular Text: English | Color: #BF4040

Florian looked expectantly at the girl as she hesitated. "Join...me?" she said, and he nodded back, confirming the notion. She seemed to shrink away from him, but that did not phase him one bit. However, he was a bit taken aback when she said "You scared me, don't sneak up on people." She was a bit snappy about it, but Florian wasn't going to let that stop him from chatting with a lovely miss. Plus, he hadn't meant to scare her. He would have to fix that rather quickly. She then continued on, saying, "Uh...what I meant was...sure. Yeah, you can...sit here. I'm Clark Piper. I mean Piper Clark." Hmmm... Piper Clark. He would add that name into his memory bank. She seemed a bit.. perhaps, unwilling to say yes? However, Florian was completely oblivious to that fact.

"Pardon Mademoiselle, I certainly did not mean to startle you." He gave an apologetic nod, and continued on, "Merci Piper, I was hoping to find good company to watch the match. I'm sure a lovely miss like yourself wouldn't want to continue sitting here alone." He took a seat perhaps a bit closer to her than most people who barely knew each other would prefer to, but the French were known for their bold moves. Florian was certainly bold.

"Are you a student here at Hogwarts?" he asked, as he watched the players zoom all around the field. "I am from Beauxbaton. A first-year. Did you watch the broom race? I was a competitor." Florian was quite proud of the fact that he was in the broom race and there was no way this girl was gonna get out of listening to Florian talk about it. It was his passion after all. Luckily the day of the race was not nearly as rainy as this and he tried to pull his hood over his face a little more to protect his hair from the rain. It would be such a waste if it got wet and he would have to redo his gel.