Still Lost, Still Here

Not sure where I am or where I'm going. Karim Thomas, fifth year, Gryffindor. That's all you really need to know.

[aneelgoldstein]

Beaters || Karim & Aneel

[aneelgoldstein]

Aneel nodded, impressed at how fast she could fly down to reach it. “The question now is if she’d got a good aim when it comes to the keeper and hoops.” Aim was definitely a key part of being a Chaser. Not only did they have to make sure to catch the Quaffle by an easy pass, but they had to be able to quickly throw it themselves. Half accuracy wasn’t enough to be on the team when throwing to their teammates alone and not even aiming for the hoops. They were going to be against obstacles all around them, and if they couldn’t aim or catch with only air between them, they most certainly wouldn’t be able to do it with the rest of the game happening all around them.

[karimthomas]

"Oh yeah..." Karim had been so impressed by her speed, he forgot all about her being able to aim or not.

If her aim wasn't great, she'd probably be placed in reserves. She could work on her aim there and become a first string in no time. Besides, she wasn't half bad to look at either. Karim wouldn't mind seeing her at practices at all.

[aneelgoldstein]

Beaters || Karim & Aneel

[aneelgoldstein]

"That Chaser on the right’s too slow," Aneel leaned over and commented to his cousin, pointing to a girl who had then missed catching the Quaffle. Aneel took a deep breath and watched as the girl beside her raced down to catch it before it hit the ground.

[karimthomas]

Karim watched the girl, tilting his head to the side,"She probably won't even make reserves. She'd ruin a close match if we had to put her in at the last minute, "But her, she's going to make to the time." he said, pointing to the girl who caught the Quaffle.

"Not even reserves, she'll be a starting Chaser."

[aneelgoldstein]

Beaters || Karim & Aneel

[aneelgoldstein]

The captain shrugged.

"Alright, then why don’t we have Chasers and Keepers first? The first half of you Chasers will be on that right hoop," they pointed to their right side, and then continued, "and you other half will be on the left hoop. I want chasers to be in a line and pass the Quaffle to each other any which way you want. You’ve got to be attentive for it. Once you’re at the posts, throw it as hard as possible and try to make a goal on the Keeper. Beaters and Seekers, you’ll be next. This won’t take long, so don’t get too comfortable.

"Chasers and Keepers, mount your brooms and let’s go."

Aneel watched the others fly off, leaving the four Beaters and three Seekers to sit and wait for their turns. The Beaters were going to do roughly the same things as the Chasers; hit the Bludgers between each other, and try to get it through a hoop to warm up their aiming. Although Beaters didn’t necessarily have to aim the Bludgers anywhere in particular, they did have to aim them away from their teammates.

The Seekers on the other hand would start off with flying suicides nearer the ground to practice their swift direction changes, as well as their fast flying at the same time.

[karimthomas]

Karim stood on the side, watching everyone go to the respective  spots. He was already spotting who would make the team, and who wouldn't. Some where too weak for Quidditch, and he had no idea why they were even trying out. It would be fun to see them completely fuck up their chances of winning a spot on the team.

[aneelgoldstein]

Beaters || Karim & Aneel

[aneelgoldstein]

Aneel followed Karim over as the captain took a quick head count of how many people were considering each position. “We’re going to play a few scrimmage games to see how well you are individually, and how well you can play with those around you. Some of you may play a two games instead of only one so that we can get an idea on how well you can sense your partners’ moves and how you work with them. These games shouldn’t take very long; five minutes at the most.

"We have a perfect count between beaters and chasers to create the two teams. Keepers will switch off when a game ends, as well as seekers until everyone’s had a chance.

"Any questions before we do a few warmups for each position?"

[karimthomas]

Karim looked around,and shot a glare at one kid who looked as if he was about to ask a question. The boy quickly put his hand down and shook his head with the rest of the group. The quicker they got started the quicker Karim could get his spot on the team.

[aneelgoldstein]

Beaters || Karim & Aneel

[aneelgoldstein]

The captain gazed around the group to see if anyone was going to leave, and only two people left quietly before the captain told them what they were going to do.

"I want you all to stand near the Gryffindor entrance to the pitch in groups of the positions you’ll be trying out for." They pointed from right to left against the wall of the pitch near the entrance, "Seekers on the very right, Keepers, Beaters, and Chasers over to the far left."

[karimthomas]

Karim followed the group of beaters, noting that there were four of them. He knew Aneel was a shoe in, but that only left one spot. Karim had that position and he knew it, there was no way these two boys would beat him out for it...or he'd just have to beat them.

[aneelgoldstein]

Beaters || Karim & Aneel

[aneelgoldstein]

The captain was hovering on their broomstick so that everyone could see, holding their wand up to their neck and projecting their voice slightly with a charm as if they had a muggle megaphone. They began talking about their weekly practices and how they would go - sounding, to Aneel, the same as the year prior. They discussed the games and how they would go; what time they had to be ready and at the pitch, and if there were any rituals they did beforehand. And before anything else, they asked if anyone would be wasting their time trying out after hearing what was to come with the responsibility of being a regular or even a reserve on the team.

[karimthomas]

Karim had heard the same speech the year prior,so he knew the drill. He was just ready to show the captain and everyone else from the year before how much he'd improved.

[aneelgoldstein]

Beaters || Karim & Aneel

[aneelgoldstein]

Before Aneel could reply, a loud voice was heard in the middle of the pitch. The captain was calling all of the potential players to stand closer to them for announcements before they started the try-outs.

"Ready, then?" Aneel turned back to Karim with a grin and asked.

[karimthomas]

"Let's do this." Karim smirked as he walked towards the captain.

[aneelgoldstein]

Beaters || Karim & Aneel

[aneelgoldstein]

"And if you’re the one that’s out for some horrific accident?" Aneel laughed and asked.

[karimthomas]

Karim shrugged, "I'll still find a way." he grinned.

[aneelgoldstein]

Beaters || Karim & Aneel

[aneelgoldstein]

Aneel laughed softly to himself at his cousin’s confidence, although it was great he had it. “I don’t know if he’ll even make the reserves, honestly. Don’t want the chance that he’d need to get in the game, and end up choking, do we?”

[karimthomas]

"No,then I'd have to come after him with my bat." Karim chuckeld.

[aneelgoldstein]

Beaters || Karim & Aneel

[aneelgoldstein]

Aneel glanced around at the groups of Gryffindor students, spotting one off the bat that he didn’t think would make the cut.

"He’s clutching his broom real tight, and real close to him. He looks like he’s got some intense nerves that will probably hurt him come time he starts flying."

[karimthomas]

Karim tilted his head to the side, "Hm,hope he's not going out for beater...I'd hate to see his face when I beat him out." he grinned.

[aneelgoldstein]

Beaters || Karim & Aneel

[aneelgoldstein]

Aneel nodded, and then shrugged shrugged, “If you’re getting through it, then that’s great in itself, yeah? Getting through it positively with laughter is just a plus.”

[karimthomas]

"Yeah, I guess so...so who do you think is going to make the team this year?"

[aneelgoldstein]

Beaters || Karim & Aneel

[aneelgoldstein]

"Getting through it, though?"

[karimthomas]

"The best way, I know how...with laughter." Karim chuckled, "But yeah, it's good...for therapy."

[aneelgoldstein]

Beaters || Karim & Aneel

[aneelgoldstein]

"How’s therapy going?"

[karimthomas]

"It's...going." Karim said, shaking his head.

[aneelgoldstein]

Beaters || Karim & Aneel

[aneelgoldstein]

Aneel ran his fingers through his his hair and stood straight, letting out a slight sigh as he replied, “Dad’s really been trying to help me uh … figure out what I want to do when I get out of Hogwarts …” The boy didn’t know if he wanted to stay on that subject for too long or not. It was relatively embarrassing for him not having a clue what he wanted to do. “We’ve got a few jobs narrowed down.

"What about you?"

[karimthomas]

"Oh yeah, you are graduating this year..." Karim said, "Well, there isn't really much to choose from in the wizarding world...shouldn't be too hard." he said, shrugging.

"My summer was great,lots of therapy, and hovering." he nodded, smiling.

[aneelgoldstein]

Beaters || Karim & Aneel

[aneelgoldstein]

Aneel glanced down at his chest pad and moved it around a bit as he listened to Karim, but after he was finished with his statement, Aneel looked back up to his cousin with raised eyebrows. He had to pause, thinking over what the boy had just said, but ended up shrugging, finding nothing new in the matter. “Well, alright! Guess some aggression is good for a beater’s position. Being a beater’s definitely a healthy stress reliever; I agree to that,” he nodded with a grin.

[karimthomas]

"So, how was your summer? I don't think I saw you at all." Karim said, leaning on his broom.

[aneelgoldstein]

Beaters || Karim & Aneel

[aneelgoldstein]

"I believe it," Aneel nodded and grinned a bit at Karim’s own determination. "Have you been practicing somehow or something?"

[karimthomas]

"Yeah, and I found that thinking of everything that makes me angry, helps when beating." he said with a slight grin.

[aneelgoldstein]

Beaters || Karim & Aneel

[aneelgoldstein]

"Trying out for beater again?"

[karimthomas]

"Of course, and I plan on actually playing this year."