trans_9 | On your broomsticks! [OPEN]

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On your broomsticks! [OPEN]

Following the instructions given to him by crew members here and there, Cedric stepped through a green archway tucked on a corner of the fifth floor and entered a grey void. He closed his eyes, concentrating on the sort of place that would be perfect for a day of flying. He imagined a bright grassy plain, a large lake, and a forest off to the side. Vague memories turned into vivid images surrounding him, so thoroughly convincing that he really believed he'd been taken from the ship and placed on a field back on Earth. It was quite a convincing illusion
.
All it needed now was the key piece: a group of brooms. He thought for a moment on which brooms to provide them with. Firebolts were the world standard, but he'd never known one well enough to be able to picture it accurately. The school brooms, Shooting Stars, were nice and safe for new riders but not quite reliable. In the end, he knew his own broom best: a sleek Nimbus 2001, gifted by his father. As long as he instructed the fliers to go slowly, they should be safe on those brooms.

Visitors would find Cedric side-mounted on a broom in his black and yellow Quidditch robes, gliding just slightly over the grass. As soon as he spotted them, he'd greet them enthusiastically and move to touch down. "Hi!"

((ooc: wide open for everyone to join in! We'll be doing some group exercises too, so thread around! Fly as a group when you're ready!))

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"I'm sure waterbending's amazing to watch," Cedric wondered, gazing out at the lake they would soon be flying over. What could she do with that?

Pulling himself back to the present, he guided her over to the Nimbuses. "You command one to jump into your hand," he started, demonstrating this first shout. "Then you throw one leg over it, kick off, and use your weight and hands to steer. We'll go through it slowly."

Nice and steady. He didn't want to rush anyone to the point that they hurt themselves.

"I'll show you if you like, once we get near the water," Kaya said, smiling. She noticed where his eyes were resting, and figured she would be showing him some bending before they concluded.

Kaya brought her hand out, imagining she was bring water about and shouted, "Up!" It immediately jumped into her hand and, taking a moment to be startled, threw her leg over the broomstick, mounting it a little shakily.

"Ok, I'm ready," she said, levitating a little bit off the ground.

"I'll look forward to it. Let's get started, then!"

Cedric was excited. He approved of Kaya's posture on her broom, and overall she was taking to it very well. "You might want to adjust your grip, though. Leaning closer to the broom will give you more control. But if you're more comfortable that way, that's fine as well!"

He joined her in the air, kicking off with enthusiasm. "Just shift your weight and the direction of the handle to steer. Here, watch me," he suggested, leaning back to rise above her and swerve left.

Kaya listened to his advice and adjusted her grip. It was daunting at first, honestly: she had never been used to actually controlling what was making her fly. But once she adjusted that and realized it was all about actually keeping balance and steering, it was much easier. She leaned in a little bit and, to her delight, she rose higher into the air.

And wow! It was a rush, and she was head to head with Cedric, though it was obvious he was the superior flyer: Kaya was just a mite shakier than him.

"And you do this all the time?"

Kaya was going to be a great flier, he could see it already. Cedric beamed at her, taking them upward and over the field before approaching the lake.

"I have to if I want to keep in shape. I can't possibly catch the Snitch if I'm not good at steering the broom. Quidditch is a great sport, but it takes dedication."

Kaya was pleased to be catching on so quickly. With all of the time she spent in medbay, she was worried she might be rusty with something like this. As it turned out though, it was akin to waterbending: you KNEW how it worked in the back of your mind, you just had to get back in the groove of things. It had helped Sheeana's teachings from back the had emphasized getting balance and impulsive movement down: riding a broomstick was just another way of doing that.

"Quiditch? Snitch? I remember Luna sort of mentioning them, but she did it in this weird, dreamy way. I was never sure what she meant."

Cedric flew just off to her side, encouraging her quite proudly. This was going so well!

"It's a wizarding sport, one of the best around. It's played in the air on broomsticks, seven players per team, and there are four positions and three balls in play."

As always, he took a breath before launching into the main explanation. "The first ball is the Quaffle. There's no special enchantment on it, it's just a regular ball about the size of someone's head. There are three hoops on each end of the field, and throwing a Quaffle through your opponent's hoop earns your team ten points. The three Chasers of each team compete for the Quaffle, and each team's Keeper defends the hoops. It's almost like the Muggle sport, football."

That's just one of three. "The second type of ball is a Bludger. There are two of them, and I can assure you that they're no player's friend. They're quite heavy and magically enchanted to attack players at random. Being hit by one can easily break bones. Each team has two Beaters who wield clubs, and their goal is to hit the Bludgers away from their teammates and at their opponents. They especially like to attack Seekers, because..."

The last part. He couldn't help feeling just a little proud of his position. "The Seekers, one on each team, are involved with the Golden Snitch. It's a tiny ball, about this big," he explained, calling on the Sensorium to conjure a winged golden ball in his hand. "It flies even more quickly than a Bludger, but its goal is to avoid the players. The first Seeker to catch it earns a hundred and fifty points for their team, and it's the only way to end the game. If neither Seeker catches, it...well, it can get to be a problem. The world record for longest Quidditch match is six months!"

He laughed. "I was my team's Seeker, but I've always been able to catch it more quickly than that."

That was...a lot of information. She at least knew what a muggle was, although it didn't help her any, since, technically being one, she still knew nothing about sports aside from her world. In any case, it sounded only a little daunting: she was sure she'd get the hang of it.

"Hey, have you ever thought of maybe holding try outs to have an actual Quidditch game? I would love to give that a shot! Imagine, playing against another team! You and harry must have been rivals at the game too, right?"

Several seconds passed before Cedric responded. The idea had grazed his mind before, a casual fancy, but it was now taking root. It was digging its roots in as surely as any of the plants he tended. It wasn't just possible to teach people to fly, but they could play too!

"Yes, we were rivals. I just played against him in a rematch after our last match ended unfairly, actually. And I have thought about finding a full team, but I've wondered whether enough people would like to play. We have Harry, Ginny, and I, but that's only three. We'd need at least fourteen for two whole teams. Do you think they would play?"

How could it not? Kaya had been on the ship long enough to know that sometimes people needed to have an outlet before they did something dangerous: why not at least have them do something active and fun?

"Oh, I think I could scare up some people!" Kaya said, grinning. She felt a little bad, as the Outsiders hadn't gathered together in a long time with all of her work. She figured Beast boy must have been as equally busy. But this, who would refuse riding on a broom? "I can think of a few to start, actually!"

Was he considering her offer? Yes, in his mind he'd already accepted it in the first few seconds. "Really? I'd appreciate it. We'd gather the others who know what Quidditch is and have a demonstration. Plenty of practise sessions before the tryouts. It wouldn't be fair unless you all had time to learn."

He smiled his agreement and picked up the pace, sizing Kaya up and wondering. "Were you thinking about playing?"

Kaya nodded. "Of course, that makes sense. There are a lot of people on the ship who would jump at the chance to do something like this too: there's the idea of flying that appeals to people, and then there's actually playing a sport where you have to be quick and agile to win!"

She nodded. "Of course! Actually, when you started to talk about it I imagined I might make a good chaser, if I get good enough at flying."

"I got the idea that you might like it when so many of you showed up," said Cedric, amazed by all the people flying back and forth. They seemed to be enjoying themselves.

At Kaya's admission, he immediately glanced at her and wondered. "A Chaser, huh? I can see it. You'll be fast. And I'm sure you can handle this," he thought aloud, beginning to get the hang of how to operate a Sensorium. As he requested one, a Quaffle fell into his hands.

"This is what you'd be trying to catch. It's not enchanted, so it'll fall if none of the Chasers are carrying it. You'd have to be ready to dive for it."

"In my world, you can't even fly without having some kind of animal or equipment that can do it like a blimp!" Kaya said, watching some of the others. Their enthusiasm was pretty infectious: how could she not want to take part in a wizard sport that Luna had mentioned to her before?

Kaya stared at the ball, and grinned. "Well, test me out! Throw the ball, we'll see if I can catch it!"

"Yeah. I can't wait until I have a broom outside these walls again. I've had to rely on other people flying me in the City." How he would love to take to the skies on his own again!

Grinning right back, he readied his toss. "Ready? Go!" When they were ready, he tossed the Quaffle in an upward arc.

"I wish I could help with that, but I'm not an airbender," Kaya said, shrugging. "But I'm sure that someone can eventually build you a broom that you can fly with."

Kaya readied herself. Once he threw the Quaffle, she waited a moment before the ball, rising, started to fall. She grinned, then bent downward and took off after the Quaffle, moving with breakneck speed. Just before it fell, she pulled her foot out and kicked it high in the air before rising up and catching it in her hand.

"I'm not too worried. Negi and I are going to work on it together. He's a remarkable wizard, do you know him?"

When she caught the Quaffle like an expert Chaser, Cedric's eyes flashed in delight. Yes. She had the build, the reflexes, the aptitude...he'd have to evaluate a team as a group first, but she was definitely on The List. When she looked up, she'd find him laughing and applauding.

"Brilliant! I've never seen a catch like that a person's first time out. You're a Chaser, absolutely."

Kaya laughed. "It's safe to say I know him well, actually: I consider him a little brother that I never had. But yes, I've seen him at work, and even when he uses his powers: it can be pretty scary, and he pushes himself. He's definitely a wizard not afraid to take chances."

Kaya grinned. "Honestly? I just think of Luna and how she would have been so happy if she saw you and Harry here. It makes me want to do my best. A lot of it though, has to do with me making sure I use my athleticism. I've definitely done more than I ever have in my own world."

"I'm going to study under him. I'm a little nervous, but I hope it helps."

Cedric sighed at the mention of Luna, the little witch he hardly knew. They'd seen each other a few times in the corridors, but that was all.

"I would've liked to meet her again. And I can understand that. I need too keep in shape if I'm going to survive. But as I said, you'll be a fine Chaser. I just wish I had teammates to run through exercises with you, but that'll come."

"That ought to be interesting," Kaya said. "But Negi is a genius, so I'm sure he won't steer you wrong. I actually look forward to seeing your progress."

Kaya nodded. "She was a unique girl, I know that much. I wish she had stayed, but you don't get to pick and choose who gets podded and all. I just hope that if she ever comes back, she'll get to be with some of her friends from Hogwarts. She seemed really happy there."

She definitely glowed with pride at being called a fine chaser, especially since she hadn't flown until now. "Like I said, I can always ask around! There's bound to be people as interested as I am abut flying and competing in a sport!"

"We all were," Cedric said wistfully. "Those were the best years of my life. I'd liked studying when I was younger, but I absolutely loved what I was learning at Hogwarts. We'll just have to build something for ourselves now."

He wished he could've completed his education, but that would remain just a dream.

"That's great! Just spread the word, and once I've talked to the others there should be a trial session."

"There are still other ways to learn, and many things to learn about," Kaya said. "I started here fairly competent as a waterbender, but now I'm faster, quicker and stronger than I ever was before. All it takes is just time and effort, and if you came from Hogwarts I know you have plenty of that!"

She nodded. "Definitely! I can think of a few people already!"

"If you say so. I know most of our arts can't be taught, but there are more important things. Ideas, techniques, crafts that we can all learn."

His head was filling with ideas. "So I'll expect to see you early for our next session?"

"I've seen that," Kaya said, "especially when it comes to Negi. Of course,, he is one of the most helpful people on the ship. It doesn't surprise me that he would try to help other witches on the ship."

She nodded eagerly. "Just announce on the comm the time and place. I'll be there!"

"Then I'm glad to have him. And I'll let you know, don't worry! I wouldn't pass up a Chaser like you."

Cedric drifted along with her, simply enjoying the illusion while he could. It was a wonderful thing. "So you're comfortable by now? You've got it?"

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