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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Cedric was interested in that. "It's a deal. I'd like to keep our supply of tea going strong, among other things."

With that settled, he offered the lot. "They're all identical. They're racing brooms, highly responsive with smooth controls. You could zoom around my head twenty times in a minute if you wanted to."

"But then I would get dizzy and fall off, and that would be no good!" Alastirra said. But she was chuckling, so it was doubtful that she was upset about any of it.

She selected one and rested her rump on it, sidesaddle. It was more elegant than the way she'd ridden brooms back home--and really, it made her hooves look less silly to be tucked to one side than splayed out in both directions.

Alastirra seemed to have no problems with it, though, as it responded to her commands--at least like she'd done it before, if not like she was born to it. The sound of her delighted laughter echoed over the fields.

"Oh, I missed this! Thank you so much!"

Cedric joined her, imitating her style as he took off. It wasn't an ideal position for racing, but a casual glide once in a while wasn't such a bad thing.

He wholeheartedly agreed, watching the view before them with almost all of the excitement he'd felt on his first day with a real broom. It was freeing, and he especially loved the wind's work on his hair and robes. The robe-rippling was dramatic, and he did have a slight eye for style.

"It wasn't a problem! I've missed it too, but I couldn't imagine having brooms for such a short time. We need ours year round. How else could we play Quidditch?"

"I do not know! What kind of a game is Quidditch, then? Other than one played with brooms?" Clearly it had to be a game of sorts, what else did one play?

Alastirra made a face. "Well. I suppose this is all well and good for soaring about slowly, but if I am going to do anything more, being inelegant it is." She sighed, swinging one leg over the broom while she had a good grip on it with her arms.

She really did look sort of silly with her hooves splayed, but she gave Cedric a sheepish grin and shrugged. What could she do?

"It's a fast game, slightly dangerous, but very rewarding. I absolutely love playing it."

Cedric launched into the explanation breathlessly, as he always did. "Quidditch is played with seven players on a team, and whoever scores the most points by the end of the game wins. And there are two ways to score points:

The first is by throwing the Quaffle through one of the hoops at the opponents' end of the field. Three Chasers per team compete for the Quaffle and try to throw it into their opponents' hoop, getting it past the Keeper guarding the hoops. Each Quaffle through the hoop earns ten points."

"While they're doing this, they all need to avoid the Bludgers, heavy black balls that are enchanted to attack players at random. The Beaters on each team fly after the Bludgers, hitting them away from their teammates and toward their opponents. They target most players, but it's worthwhile to hit the Seeker because a Seeker can end the game."

"Seekers chase the Golden Snitch, a tiny golden ball enchanted to avoid the players. Each team's Seeker tries to catch it, and the one who does ends the game and earns a hundred and fifty points for their team. I played Seeker on my team at school."

But that was enough boasting for now. He watched Alastirra shift her stance with an encouraging smile, ready to fly off with her. "Don't worry! No one cares about how you look, only about how you fly."

Alastirra's brows rose. "It sounds very complicated, but also as if it can be very fun. Clearly you had some skill!"

Though it also didn't sound a thing like anything she'd ever done on Draenor or Azeroth.

As for flying--well, she probably wasn't the most brilliant on the field, but the air spirits were kindly disposed to her, at least. And the shaman certainly remembered how to fly and move, even if the broom wasn't sentient like a gryphon was. She even managed to do a loop, hooves crossing over the broom to make sure she didn't fall, and finally righted herself, laughing.

"Oh yes, I like this!"

"Harry's probably the better flier," Cedric said honestly, "but thank you. I'll keep doing my best. Some competition might keep us busy around here."

He whooped and followed her, lifting his hands to applaud after coming out of a loop of his own. "That's it! You're doing fine."

Alastirra kept laughing. "Well, I have had some experience, so! Perhaps I should join the others and attempt to--what is it, show them how it is done?"

She still wasn't entirely sure on all her slang terms, and sometimes it really showed.

"I'd like that. We could all help encourage them! And I think that's the right phrase. I've had some trouble understanding others here too, don't worry."

He thought of the messages typed to Punchy earlier that afternoon. "We're so lucky to have our messages translated for us, but it's not perfect."

On your broomsticks! [OPEN]

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