Game Two: Crimson Claws vs. Vicious Venom

[Verisimilitude St. Clair]

Vicious Venom

luring in, ripping out, ready for the kill

Seeker. Verisimilitude St. Clair

Veri had a plan - it was a pretty good one too. There was no deception, or malice attached to it, there was nothing even particularly Slytherin about it. But, like the best-laid plans of snakes and women, it didn't last very long.

Maybe she had just been looking at it wrong though. Her plan had been to find the snitch in the fog and then the fog suddenly cleared up. Perhaps that was just a sign the plan had worked all along?

Best not to worry about that now. With that plan in the wastepaper bin along with other things like 'good grades' and 'relaxing on the bench,' Veri only had one thing left for her now. Catch the snitch and get warmed up.

Since the fog had lifted, she could see all the balls on the pitch. Like Chills, who was hurtling towards her. Already near the ground, Veri had to bank hard to the left and let the bludger [Chills] slam into the pitch which caused a large divot behind her.

"Merlin's unwashed undershirt." No, that still was not a good curse. With a frown, she leaned over her broom and urged it forward to catch up to Vlad and the snitch.

[Katherine Dankworth]

Vicious Venom

luring in, ripping out, ready for the kill

Bench. Katherine Dankworth (C)

Everything was a mess.

As the minutes passed and her anger wore off, her face had started hurting more and more. Her players —if she could call them that—, were acting like they've never seen a Quidditch pitch in their lives. And now even the benched ones were rebelling—Santiago had just stood up and started walking towards the enemy's bench.

"What are you doing, de la Cruz?"

Kate could feel her eye actually twitching, and the worst ideas had started to pile up in her brain as she used every single fiber of restraint in her body to stop herself from attacking someone.

"You need a bandaid, cabrona?"
"I don't." She hissed. Kate knew Rocío wasn't really trying to be mean to her, as in the past weeks they've reached a certain agreement of respect—even friendship. So instead of saying she would regret, she just pretended she wasn't in pain and looked around the pitch.

But then, she noticed Nael back in the ground and her selfcontrol just plummeted. She was not only mad about the bludger —Nael could argue he didn't do that on purpose—, but she was also mad at him because he had managed to confuse her in the middle of an awful breakup. And then he acted like it was nothing.

To be fair, Kate just thought they had a moment. Nothing else happened. And she never even told him how she felt about it. Nael didn't owe her anything, nor there was any way for him to know Kate was interested.

Still, since when was Kate fair? Or reasonable, for that matter.

So she walked towards him, smiling as she was going to say something nice, and then slapped him in front of everyone.

If anyone asked, she could always say it was about the bludger.

[Eryon Thornley]

Vicious Venom

luring in, ripping out, ready for the kill

Chaser. Eryon Thornley

The fog was finally gone and for the first time all game, Eryon could see the entire pitch, every player, every movement, every opportunity—and every mistake.

He pushed his broom forward, the ache in his leg still sharp but manageable, forcing himself to shake off the discomfort as he scanned the field, trying to assess the latest shift in momentum. Parker had blocked his shot, but the game hadn’t stopped. The sound of cheers from the Crimson Claws section confirmed what Eryon already knew—they had scored.

That wasn’t the worst of it. Somewhere to his right, he caught sight of Veri St. Clair and Vlad Ivansko suddenly breaking into a sprint—no, not a sprint, a race. Eryon’s chest tightened slightly.

The Snitch had finally been spotted.

Eryon immediately changed course, cutting across the pitch at full speed, searching for Rosalie and Cordelia. They still had time, still had a chance, but if the game was about to end, then they had to do everything they could to make sure they weren’t trailing when it did.

The Quaffle was still in play.

"Rosie! Cordelia!" Eryon shouted, his voice sharp, urgent, cutting through the last remnants of mist. "We need one more goal—now!"

His hand gripped the broom tighter as he caught the quaffle and sped towards the Crimson Claws’ end of the field, heart pounding, his focus narrowing to the only thing that mattered—the next point.

[Angel Malvaux]

Crimson Claws

tearing down, shredding up, ready to fight

Captain+Beater. Angel Malvaux

The impact of her bat driving hard into iron vibrated up her arm. Angel bit down hard, teeth snapping together as the sting traveled up her shoulder. Her breath was forced out of her lungs, sharp in the damp air. She tracked the bludger as it soared into the fog, disappearing into the swirling grey.

Then came the sound—a crack, a body being collided with, that told her it hit.

Her chest squeezed tightly as she caught sight of a dark green cloak spiraling wildly through the mist. Much to her relief, and amazement, Angel watched as Rosalie turned into the spin, pulling up in a way that righted her path that most would have taken straight to the ground. The younger girl was good.

Hazel eyes caught bright blue. Angel opened her mouth, an apology lingering on the tip of her tongue.

”Not bad, Angel. Can you do it again?”

Then Rosalie winked at her.

Angel blinked back, the surprise evident in her wide eyes and parted lips. A sudden, rare curl of amusement hit her, nearly pushed a smile across her face. A breathy, quick laugh was all that managed to break through.

Benji wasn’t far behind with his own wink as he passed. These lower years. Angel shook her head and watched them go.

Whatever faint warmth had eased the weight in her chest had dissolved quickly when she found herself alone once more. She swallowed roughly, angled her broom and took off low. The dense fog made it nearly impossible to follow the bludger’s erratic flight. One descended from above without warning, crashing into the ground with a violent thud, dirt spraying high as the tiny first-year seeker scrambled out of its path.

It shot back up, right into Angel’s path.

The strategic thing would have been to aim it right back at the Vicious Venom seeker. But as the fog cleared suddenly, all Angel saw were three golden hoops, and a figure hovering at the center. Her chest burned, a thrashing, searing heat that tightened her grip around the handle of her bat.

Her bat crashed into the side of the bludger [chills] hard, sending it screaming toward Lorelei Kensington.

[Lorelei Kensington]

Vicious Venom

luring in, ripping out, ready for the kill

Keeper. Lorelei Kensington

In the fog, it had been so easy to forget about everyone else. That there was anyone else to worry about besides the pair of Gryffindors who now hated her guts. But she felt every eye in the school on her now, as the misty veil lifted just in time for them all to witness her failure—a shot from which she'd cowered. A shot that had gone in without even a semblance of a fight.

The embarrassment stung for a fraction of a second—only until she saw far worse coming her way. A bludger, momentarily aimless. An arm, reaching out. A bat, sturdy and strong. A swing, decisive and determined. That same bludger, Lorelei bound.

Even from this distance, she sensed Angel's eyes on her. Her intent was easy to guess. Already, Lorelei began to push her broom toward the ground. Whether the quaffle had ended up in Claw or Venom hands remained unimportant in the immediate moment.

"KATE!" She called, hoping the more alert co-captain could hear her from the benches. She wouldn't have time to call for them both. "Sub—"

Before she could say any more, the bludger was upon her. Lorelei pulled back hard on the handle of her broom. Her intent had been to dodge, but the panicked gesture had the opposite effect, halting her downward trajectory and leaving her a stationary target.

The bludger careened into her chest, knocking her off her broom and onto the cold metal post of the center hoop. The wind gusted from her lungs, refusing to return, leaving Lorelei stunned and gasping as she began a rapid vertical slide down the pole, the friction of her back on the metal barely slowing her fall at all.

[Rocío Valdés]

Hospital Wing.

Still A Selective Nurse. Valdés.

More lazily than was probably smart for an oncoming bludger, Rocío gestured up to the sky with her cigarette, exhaling a slow stream of smoke. “Should we worry more about that?”

Not that it was going near her or Niamh; whoever hit the iron ball either had a victim in mind or had set a damn homing spell on it, because it tore right past them and into the tent. A crash followed—glass shattering, steel clattering to the floor.

Wait.

Was Rae still in there?

Cursing, she pushed to her feet, but only just in time to back up as the bludger came flying back out—wobbly, like it had been hit by someone shit at batting. It veered sharply, taking on a mind of its own, and careening back up into the sky.

She was about to duck into the tent to check on the only thing in there she actually gave a shit about—

“KATE!”

She knew that voice too well, and Rocío really didn’t like the way it sounded.

Dark eyes snapped up just as the fog dissipated. Just in time to see a bludger slam dead-on into Lorelei. Her heart nearly lurched out of her chest.

Then Lorelei was falling.

“Son of a bitch,” Rocío’s wand was already out, and she didn’t realize she was already moving, casting a hasty, “Impedimenta.”

She felt the resistance in her arm, but held steady, slowing Lorelei’s fall just enough before flicking her wand again. “Mobilicorpus.”

Rocío got there just in time to catch.

She barely had time to brace before Lorelei landed in her arms with just enough force still to almost knock her back. Rocío tightened her hold, her body locking to keep them upright before she carefully lowered them both to the ground. One arm curled around Lorelei’s waist, the other steadied her shoulders, holding her close to her chest—too close. Close enough that Lorelei might feel just how hard Rocío’s heart was hammering.

“Jesus fucking christ, why do you people play this goddamn game?” But Rocío was already scanning Lorelei’s body with sharp, restless eyes. She couldn’t remember now where the damn thing hit—just that it had. Rocío found Lorelei’s gaze then.

“Where does it hurt?” Because very obviously Lorelei wasn’t okay, and even though Rocío knew the girl went through worse every single month, it didn’t make it any better.

permission to dramatically catch Lo given by player.

[Benjamin Orellana Sr.]

REFEREE
got a whistle & not afraid to use it   

((We made it!

Captains!  Please send me your scores by 15 Feb!

Nothing beyond this point will count towards scores, but you are welcome to continue posting in the game.))

[Roisin Byrne]

REFEREE
got a whistle & not afraid to use it   

Crimson Claws!
Angel Malvaux - 8
Nael Al-Azma - 10
Benji Cuddrun - 9
Vlad Ivansko - 9
April P. Orchid - 8
Percival Harman - 8
Parker McCormick - 8
Top 7 Scores: 60
Total Team Score: 82

Vicious Venom!
Katherine Dankworth - 9
Eryon Thornley - 10
Rosalie Laurence - 10
Lorelei Kensington - 10
Ephraim Prothero - 10
Verisimiltitude St. Clair - 9
Eira North - 9
Top 7 Scores: 67
Total Team Score: 95

Vicious Venom win!  Vicious Venom have caught the snitch!


In a change based on game activity, Top 7 scores were used for game win!