InsaneJournal

The forest is hit with morning showers which dry out by noon, although the sky remains gray and overcast when Black Bear and Rainbow Trout fans fill the stands. Despite having already demonstrating during tryouts exactly why they were chosen to lead, Captains Powers and Ogletree have both stepped it up with ambitious new routines, and the crowd’s in high spirits when the match begins.

Coach Thorn throws the Quaffle into the air, to be caught by Chaser Valentine. Opposing Chaser Decourt speeds ahead, swinging into Valentine’s blind side to intercept, but Valentine swiftly tosses the ball to her teammate, and Fairchild scores the first goal of the game. Spurred on by early success, the ladies of Ribbonfin fly circles around Keeper Raza, landing two more goals in the first 14 minutes, while on the Ribbonfin end of the field, Keeper Davenport’s riding high, and blocks two shots from Chaser Webb and one each from Quayle and Decourt.

It takes an entire 20 minutes before Ebonhide manages to break Davenport’s defenses, with Decourt passing to Quayle and Quayle aiming a long shot through the leftmost Ribbonfin hoop—but the other team takes the Quaffle next, and Chaser Alapai bumps the score to 40–10 less than five minutes later. Ribbonfin’s sophomore Beaters are having a strong start too, managing to repeatedly get in the way of Beaters Fiori and Kim, and redirect the Bludgers back at Ebonhide. It’s Fiori who finally slows Ribbonfin’s progress by pushing past a dogged Beater Delgado to slam a Bludger into the middle of Ribbonfin’s tight formation, hitting Alapai in the shoulder. Although Alapai manages to stay on her broom, she taps out to get her arm checked, and Reserve Lewis fills her spot.

While Ebonhide works to catch up, Seeker Hale has her work cut out for her in keeping her opponent away from the Golden Snitch. Bright isn’t looking to end the game early either, but he’s making it his goal to follow the Snitch as closely as possible, waiting for the opportune moment. Hale has to cut off Bright twice, once by the Ribbonfin goal posts and another time above the stands, as the Snitch flits around the field, taunting the Seekers. Around the first hour mark, Webb gets the Quaffle past Davenport, taking the score to 60–40 for Ribbonfin, and a third midair Seeker scuffle has both Hale and Bright losing the Snitch’s location completely.

Five minutes after the hour, Fiori and Kim have wrested control of the Bludgers from Ribbonfin, and their team’s Chasers start coming together. With both Bludgers repeatedly scattering the opposition, Decourt, Quayle and Webb spend the next half-hour stealing, passing and shooting in concert, and Ebonhide ties the game 80–80. Just as they’re about to pull ahead, Chaser Lewis flies right into Quayle’s path. Both try to swerve but too late, and the collision nearly knocks Quayle from his broom and definitely allows Fairchild to fly in and take the Quaffle. Thorn blows his whistle, but not before Fairchild makes a lightning-fast pass to Valentine, who scores. There’s a brief argument on the ground about whether the collision was intentional or an accident, but Thorn rules that Lewis has to sit out, and Alapai rejoins the game.

The dream team’s back together, but Ribbonfin appears to have slowed down, as both teams keep scoring goals, never straying more than 30 points away each other. The match stretches to two hours, and it becomes obvious that it’ll come down to the Snitch. High up, Bright and Hale are still circling the pitch, neither one able to find a sparkle of gold and silver. At exactly 2 hours and 30 minutes, with the score sitting at 150–130 for Ebonhide, Coach Thorn blows the whistle and calls everyone down for a break. While players refresh themselves and cast comfort charms after sitting too long on a broom, Thorn tells Captains Davenport and Fiori that he’s giving this match another half-hour and he’s calling an end, even if no one catches the Snitch.

Seekers Hale and Bright look frustrated, and there’s murmurs in the crowd as everyone wonders where the Golden Snitch could be hiding. The match resumes, everyone doing their best to stay focused, but it’s no surprise that as the minutes tick by, the players are becoming more and more exhausted. Decourt scores two goals past a tired Keeper Davenport. Fairchild is nearly winged in the elbow by Kim, and at one point, Fanning easily distracts Fiori from taking his taking his attention off the Bludger. The audience settles to half-hearted cheers with every new goal, impatient for the Snitch to appear… but it never does. Finally, after three long hours and an anticlimactic finish, Thorn calls the game.

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EBONHIDE WINS
180–150

Whether you’re a player, cheerleader or spectator, post below with your character’s reactions! If you wish to post separately about the game, please use lj-cuts and mark for spoilers for the first 24 hours, so no one sees the result before reading the official match description. And the plot thickens...! Once again, thank you everyone for your patience. ♥