trans_9 | 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
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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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Maxine rather excitedly made her way to the Sensoriums to join in on this. It sounded like a lot of fun, honestly, and she had said she would do it (or at least try out the game he'd mentioned), after all, so there was that, too. Plus, she had to admit, there was a fun thought about flying around on a broom instead of via the air currents she normally did. If nothing else, at least it'd match her costume! (Not that she had anything besides her witch's hat here, anyway.)

"Hey Cedric!" she said enthusiastically as she entered the Sensoriums, smiling brightly, landing gracefully on the floor, and looking around the room in admiration.

"Hi!" Cedric greeted her just as happily, swerving to a stop and touching down in front of her. "Welcome to...wherever this is. I thought we'd need some space for a flying lesson."

He started walking with her, over toward the pile of brooms. "How've you been?"

Maxine nodded her head enthusiastically. "That makes sense! it's nicer to have some range when you're flying, and nothing beats flying in wide open spaces. Even if this isn't technically an open space, but it gets the job done, right? And the atmosphere is right!"

She seemed to remember then, that he'd asked her a question while they walked. "Um, I've been well! I'm getting used to everything, I think. And the Shore Leave was fun! How about you?"

"Exactly. It's the closest to an open space I can reach, and there's no better way to push a broom to its limit."

As they walked, he considered the question bounced back at him. "I've done a bit of thinking. I've realised that I need to focus on helping and living, without so much dwelling in the past. It's the only way I'll keep looking ahead to face what I need to."

With his new plan explained, he introduced her to the brooms. "Here they are. Ready to pick one?"

"Yeah, that makes sense," Maxine agreed with a smile.

She was pleased, however, to find that he seemed to have a renewed plan and drive. "That's great!" she said happily. "I'm really glad to hear that, Cedric. You'll do wonderfully, I just know it. We can all do it, after all." She honestly had the utmost confidence in Cedric and her voice didn't hide that.

Looking over the brooms, she frowned slightly in thought before she asked, "Um, is there like a procedure to pick, or should I be looking for anything in particular? I've never really picked out a broom other than one time when I had to help my grandmother clean but that was kind of different."

Was this crossing boundaries? When he heard Maxine's encouragement, he tentatively reached over to squeeze her arm. "I can see that. Thank you, it means a lot."

Now that he was feeling much better, he smiled and shook his head. "They're all identical. Whichever one you pick, you just need to take it out of the pile, place it on the ground, hold your hand over it, and yell 'Up!'. It should jump into your hand."

Maxine kept smiling to him at that, and lifted one hand to touch his hand gently. "No problem. I'm glad it could help."

She looked over the brooms, even though they were all identical, until she finally decided on one that she felt like she could pick. She picked it up and moved it away from the others, like she was instructed. "Okay. Let's try it then!" She held her hand out above the broom, before she said 'up' firmly. She frowned when it didn't work the first time, then she concentrated a little harder and said it a little more firmly. It worked after a moment, and her face instantly lit up with pride.

Watching new flyers meet their brooms was always interesting. No two people approached the prospect quite the same way. He nodded encouragingly and waited, smiling with her when the handle met her hand!

"Great! You're ready. Now you just need to mount and kick off. The rest will come quickly, trust me."

Maxine was glad that he looked just as pleased as she was. She smiled as wide as she could and nodded.

"Okay!" she said, then promptly looked a bit more unsure. She'd never done this before, after all. She carefully climbed onto the broom, and hesitated before she tried to kick off. She made a conscious effort to not use her powers to boost.

Cedric lifted himself into the air beside her, whispering encouragement the whole way. "There, that's it! Just hold on tightly. You'll be using the broom handle and your weight to steer soon enough, but for now just focus. How does it feel to hover?"

Maxine nodded cheerfully, even if her smile was nervous. She held on tightly, trying to get the hang of it. "Um, okay! It feels really great. It's a lot different from the flying I normally do, you know? But it's a really wonderful feeling!"

"Isn't it?"

Cedric's almost over the moon with excitement. He's so glad that she's happy. "All right. I think you're ready. Just turn to the right with me. Tilt and lean this way!"

"Okay!" Maxine said cheerfully, ready to follow his lead. Very carefully, she began to lean, tilting to the right to try and control the broom and follow along with him.

"You've got it. So how does this compare to your power?" Cedric was genuinely curious about that. Flying her way and this way had to be rather different.

"Well it's a little less windy," Maxine joked cheerfully, laughing weakly. "I dunno though. It's really different, but it's hard to describe! It's almost more peaceful like this. I guess it's cause I'm not using a literal force of nature to fly-- I mean, that makes sense to me, anyway."

"It's not always peaceful. Sometimes you're speeding away from disaster. But it can be." Cedric was happy to let it be for today. "It's been so long since I've flown for the pleasure of it."

"That makes sense. I guess something like this would have some practical uses too that don't lend themselves to peace and fun." Maxine frowned faintly, but she quickly turned it around. "Well, at least you get to now, right? It's so nice."

On your broomsticks! [OPEN]

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