for: open @lunarcovestarters
time & location: thursday evening, holloway farm
↪ ( might cap this, haven't decided yet but till then! footballlll! )
Dhruv felt the slight burn in his calves somewhere between one sprint and the next, the heaviness never really faded these days, but right now he didn't care all too much. A laugh escaped him breathlessly as he chased after the ball, cutting across the pitch as the noise of opponents and teammates alike surged around him. It had been far too easy to tie a blue bandana around his wrist, securing it tight so it didn't fall off as he ran. It took even less thought to sign up.
He loved football long before Lunar Cove had taught him loss. Before being a werewolf had become another thing to manage. Back when he was a kid chasing a ball down cramped apartment hallways until his mother shouted at him to stop breaking things. Back when university matches had left him exhausted, collapsing onto the sidelines with teammates with a grin. Mehta. 5. He was glad to dust off and don his old jersey again.
Grass beneath his boots. Adrenaline pumping through him. He felt alive. The familiar weight of movement was muscle memory older than most of the things that haunted him these days. He missed this. The ease. The way he could move without looking down at the ball, trusting it to stay exactly where it belonged. The small adjustments made on instinct rather than thought. The effortless glance over his shoulder before receiving a pass, already mapping the field and knowing exactly where to go.
The ball found him near the edge of the box, and Dhruv met it with the outside of his foot before it could bounce away, cushioning the speed as he felt two opposing members stepping in. He rolled the ball backward under his sole, pivoting neatly away from pressure, and looked up when he heard someone call out. "Easy," he replied with a nod.
A teammate had broken free down the middle with far more space and better odds than he saw himself having. Dhruv threaded the pass without hesitation sending it cleanly through the defender who committed too early. It had enough speed so that that his teammate could collect it easily. He wasn't looking to score anyway, never really had been, the setup was enough to tug a smile on his face. "Take the shot!"
He weathered a slight shove at his shoulder before falling back into his position. This suited him. Defence. Observation. Timing. He had those on lock. Tracking the opposing player as they moved, Dhruv read the subtle shift in posture before the pass had even been made. Exhaustion tugged at his limbs, body reminding him that coffee wasn't a substitute for sleep but anticipation and joy overpowered everything right now.
The pass came and Dhruv moved. "Mind?" It only took one clean step to cut across the runner's path, foot hooking around the ball with precision to steal possession smoothly. "Cheers!" Smile turned into a laugh at the protest that followed.
He couldn't remember the last time he'd gone this long without thinking about what everyone else thought. Out here, for ninety minutes, all he had to do was play. A quick touch forward. Another to shield it. Tried and tested, it worked every time.
He watched the ball sail toward the outside line just as the whistle called for half-time. Still breathing hard, Dhruv jogged after it, cheeks flushed and curls sticking to his forehead from exertion and evening heat. But a smile planted itself firmly all the same. He pointed toward the ball and looked to the person nearest to it. "Mind chucking it back?"
