better than you [ben]

It was freezing. And yet he was out on the pitch with Danvers. He had charmed his gloves with a warming spell, but it was wearing off by now. He couldn't leave yet though. He was winning so he had to secure the victory first and rub the Slytherin's nose in it and then he could trudge back up to the castle.

Jae had been restless all week, mostly because of the rain. It had rained for the past few days and the sound against the castle roof always made him want to get outside, but the cold and wetness kept him inside. It was conflicting urges and he never liked it. So the fifth year had buried himself in school work and his latest obsession with gastronomy magic after stumbling upon a particularly interesting text. He wished the librarian would stop giving him such curious smiles when he asked about an obscure subject. Then again, she was probably glad for something to do.

But even that got old after a while so the first day the skies had cleared, Jae had looked for Isaac and after not finding him, settled on Danvers to pull out to the pitch with a challenge and a smirk. They had been out here for the past hour, neither of them chasers, but both of them doing a target challenge with quaffles to test accuracy and aim. Jae was happy to see that he had the edge on the Slytherin and of course, that mean it spurred on his trash talk of the piss poor team Slytherin had put together this year.

"You'll be lucky if you lot score anything on me considering you have two toddlers playing with Zhen," Jae said smirking as tossed the quaffle in the air before it smacked back into his palm. He quirked his brows and then hauled back his arm and threw the quaffle at one of the targets set up a fair distance away. He pumped his fist silently, his triumphant smile wide as he slid his glance back to Danvers. "Should I break the news to Lovecraft now that you would be a piss poor Chaser once those first years quit after they lose in the first game?" he asked grinning.

@Benjamin Danvers

There was something Ben liked about flying in the cold, though, perhaps it was because he was out flying in general. He'd be more enthused if he had a bat in hand, particularly because it was fun to smash Jae with a bludger, but partially because he felt sort of naked without one. It was always good to train up without a bat, though, just to get his bearings. Most of the times he went out flying was just to fly but it still felt odd to swap out a bat for a Quaffle.

"Those toddlers won't have a difficult time with scoring when Andy and I relieve you of the use of your arms and legs." he said, smirking, as his eyes flickered over to the other boys throw. He wasn't personally offended he was crap at chasing. He'd probably do fairly well as a keeper with his long reach and general bulk. Chasing and seeking were really out for him at this point. He'd been better when he was younger mainly because he'd been lighter and it had been a lot easier for him to finesse stuff. He had to work fairly hard to stay as quick as he was, considering his height and his weight. He was good at both taking damage and dealing it, though. "The goals will be so open an actual toddler would be able to score on you." he added, laughing.

Jae wasn't so bad. A cocky, sure, but it amused Ben quite a bit. Talking crap was always fun, though, despite how poorly he was doing currently with the Quaffle situation. He flew in a wide arc, dropping down low, before snapping his arm back and releasing the Quaffle. It hit the side hoop and he dove down to catch it before it hit the ground. The repetitive motion was wearing but by Morgan he'd eat slug before he admitted he was starting to get tired. He'd push through his exhaustion until the younger boy gave into his.

Jae laughed, a tight and sharp sound, and just shook his head at Danvers' threat. "You wish. You might have a fighting to win then, wouldn't you. Or maybe not even then," he threw back with a confident smirk. They were friends mostly, but trash talking on the pitch was the norm for them and Jae reveled in it for some reason he wasn't quite sure of. Besides, he at least could back up what he was saying. The second years the Slytherins had on for chasers were mostly rubbish, even if the one did had a famous dad or whatever. Jae was sure that was the only reason the kid had gotten a spot to begin with.

He swiveled on his broom, agile and quick, and shot another quaffle toward the hoops, feeling the stretch of his shoulder as he brought his arm back and the weight behind the throw before he watched it sail through the hoop with a grin. "Is that what you're stooping to now? Actual toddlers since your entire house is so rubbish at playing?" he asked, turning his words against him. The quaffle hit the green with a dull thud and Jae swooped down low to retrieve it, leaning out over his broom in a practiced, balanced move where he snatched the ball and returned to hover near Danvers.

"Besides, we have the points on you anyway in the standings right now. All we need to do is take out your keeper and let Aase do her thing just like the past two games and we'll have it in the bag," he said confidently, perking his brows once as he mentioned the Slytherin keeper who he knew his friend had a thing for. It was always fun to needle him and it seemed like it was the perfect opportunity. "Guess I know who I'll be telling the beaters to target next game," he added with a laugh.

He couldn't really deny that he was amused. He knew a lot of other people wouldn't be, the majority in his own house, but Ben had never really cared about houses in the sense that no ones tie color would dictate if he'd seek amusement from them or not. He was loyal to his house of course, and he'd never badmouth a housemate no matter how much they deserved it, but that was more principal than anything else. It was difficult for him to see some of his friends like those outside his house did and he was pretty sure not knowing the way of things bred more hostility than not. While those thoughts did concern him he couldn't help but put on a face. So many members of his house were isolated it wasn't their fault they'd only been exposed to the one thing. You couldn't fault someone for ignorance, not really, especially when its ingrained ignorance perpetuated by respectable adults.

He was of the mindset people could be persuaded in such a way as to align with your way of thinking if you were nice and subtle about it but that was just the way he'd always operated and found success in. Most people just dug their heels in when you told them they were wrong and were less likely to listen to even the most reasonable of arguments.

Still he knew most of his housemates would've taken real offense to Jae's comments but it honestly just sort of... it was funny. He couldn't help the burst of laughter or the grin he shot the Hufflepuff. There was no doubt in his mind that Andy and him were the best beaters Hogwarts currently had. They practiced too much for that not to be a true statement of fact. He'd also admit some of his team was a bit young but, well, did it matter when their defense was so strong? "So long as we take everyone out on the Hufflepuff team it wont matter if our ickle chasers are any good." that was as close as he would be getting to admit that the Slytherin chasers were rather new. Didn't mean they wouldn't do well, though. Age didn't mean much, especially when there was talent. "Someones got to train the future of the Slytherin House Quidditch team." he added, smile curling along his lips, as he thought about the sort of legacy he'd be leaving behind.

Hopefully someone who loved the game as much as he did. At the mention of Slytherin's keeper Ben mentally did some complicated emotional thing as his brain and heart had a tug of war. Orlaith had been... busy. Too busy, in his opinion, and the thought pained him a considerable amount. He wasn't really sure where they stood and the longer she went with being busy the more convinced he was that maybe it wasn't such a great idea to ask her out. There was conflict in him, because he didn't really back down once he'd set a course for something but, well, he was just tangled up about it. As conflicted as he was there was one sure thing, he absolutely was not letting anyone near enough to hurt her. "Not a chance. I'd warn your beaters right now, if they target our keeper, they better be prepared to eat dirt." he threatened, eyes narrowing a bit, as he envisioned the carnage he'd unleash.

He dove, swift and sure, as he did a loop and hurled the ball, pleased when it went through the center hoop. He took moment to not think about what he'd been thinking about as he sunk to retrieve the ball, hoping the younger boy wouldn't zero in on his preoccupation.

"Yeah, good luck with that," Jae said with a grin that mirrored Ben's. "What are you going to do after you beat everyone with your bats? Go find the snitch yourself, yeah?" He shook his head with an amused look. The ignorance and stubborn belief the guy had about his own team was admirable but really dumb at the same time. "I bet you and Lovecraft can't even find your wands when they're right in front of your big hook noses," he added just because he could. Insulting their skills and their looks all in one go? Yeah, he was in rare trash talking form today. He snickered at his own comments, not caring in Ben found them funny or not.

He flew lazily back and forth from side to side as he watched Ben, noticing the difference in his tone. Why the change? Was he finally getting to him? The fifth year smirked at the idea, but then a thought occurred to him. Was it..? Hmm. His smirk grew wider and he skipped his turn as he flew closer to the Slytherin to further push his point. A little experiment, if you will.

"Your little warning won't scare them away from targeting Dewar if the play calls for it. What are you going to do? Hang out near the hoops the whole time just to keep the bludgers off her and forget the rest of the team?" he asked, tossing the quaffle up into the air with his left hand and then slicing through the air deftly to catch it with his right, his gaze straying back to Ben to watch for his reaction.

"I'm not angling for a snitchnip foul." he said with a roll of his eyes. Their seeker wasn't a baby, anyway, and he'd fight anyone that insinuated that Aideen wasn't a bloody brilliant one. "Oi! Leave my perfectly proportioned nose out of this." he said, smirking, as he shrugged. In his mind Slytherin was the best, no matter how much the Puff's talked a big game about work ethic. Sure the house of silver and green didn't enjoy the work for the thrill of it but they definitely put in the time for the overall goal. For Ben it was both, actually, and he knew it was the same for Andy. He was pretty sure that if you put practice time combined, Slytherin edged everyone out though he hadn't clocked it.

That he had some concerns over the younger years playing went sort of without saying, though he'd never admit to his team having weaknesses to someone who could potentially exploit them for their benefit. He wasn't an idiot, no matter that he liked to act like one sometimes. Fact was he'd never express his concerns with anyone but Andy and Aideen, and that was mainly so they could formulate a solid enough plan to cover those skill gaps before they became genuine hindrances.

Fuck. He'd given something away hadn't he? He was proven right about a split second later when Kim zeroed in on Orlaith. It took a considerable amount of willpower not to snap, knowing, that Jae would continue to needle until he got the reaction he wanted, the little shit. "Just a friendly suggestion." he said mildly, willing his jaw to unlatch so he didn't gnash his teeth. "Thats assuming your beaters even get control of the bludgers." as if anyone could, bludgers were unpredictable as hell. He gave a shrug, focusing on the Quaffle in his frenemy's hand, and counting to to ten to keep his ire in check. In reality giving away he'd be overprotective or Orli was a bad idea, especially since he would be his opponent.

Andy would kill him, for one, though he was secure in the knowledge that since they hadn't been seen together as much recently there wouldn't be a lot of ground to speculate. Its not like anyone outside of maybe Alex really knew any better, and Alex teased him about a bunch of girls, daily.

"Perfectly proportioned, mhm sure," Jae repeated sarcastically with a snicker as he shook his head. If he was honest, he didn't have much of a skill difference to Danvers despite the difference in their positions but at least, he didn't have such a tragic nose. He was going to take the win where he could. Jae smiled wider at the very thought.

It was dashed a bit when the Slytherin didn't react much to his jab about Dewar. Maybe he was wrong? Hmm.

Or maybe he just needed to prove his point even more, drive the point home a little further. "I guess we'll see, won't we?" Jae added, continuing to toss the quaffle up in the air as he hovered, lazily floating back and forth. "Can you imagine though how easy it would be to win if we did take her out? Have the beats do a Dopplebeater, take her out, and then we could just sail quaffles through the hoops, wouldn't even matter if your seeker caught the snitch or not."

Why he wanted to needle him so much, he wasn't exactly sure, but he was enjoying it nonetheless.

"Look on the bright side. It would be criminal to be both prettier than you better at Quidditch and completely brilliant- actually well, thats the reality." he teased, enjoying himself. Jae could get grumpy as shit and he couldn't resist being an asshole just to see him twitch. Besides the more he could annoy him, the less room Jae had to mount his own assault, particularly as it pertained to Orli.

His fingers dug roughly into his broom handle, his only outward reaction to the thought of Orlaith taken out, and he thanked Merlin his gloves hid that reaction well enough. It looked like he was adjusting his grip for the most part. "They'd have to be able to play for them to target anyone at all." he said, voice even and pleasant, even as a glint of violence sparked in his eye. If Andy and him took out the beater he didn't care about then he could keep the other occupied enough and Andy could focus on defense. There were a lot of things he could do to directly influence Orli's wellfare, and he used those thoughts as a bit of a balm. 

"I'm surprised you've never gone for the beater position." he said, offhand, as he studied his friend. Jae would benefit from how cathartic it could be to smash something repeatedly.

"Only in your dreams, Danvers, are you prettier than me," Jae said just as quick. He wasn't sure about much, but when it came to appearance, Jae was pretty confident in all regards. Not to say, he wouldn't argue to the death about the Quidditch and intelligence aspects too, but honestly Danvers didn't stand a chance.

But again Jae was slightly disappointed not to get a rise out of him about Dewar. He really thought.. Oh well. Jae just gave him a shrug. "I guess we'll see whose team will come out on top in the last match, right?" he said, even though he didn't entertain any idea that Slytherin would actually win. Aase had really been on point lately and despite Ben and Andy's leadership, the rest of their team was a bunch of rookies who were ill-experienced and too green. "We'll be sure to not rub the victory in your faces too much, promise," he added with a devilish grin.

He tossed the quaffle towards the hoops, hurling his arm back and then forward, watching it sail toward the left hoop and feeling a ding of annoyance as it hit the rim and bounced out before he raised on brow at Ben's remark. "Why?" he asked before he brought out his wand to accio the quaffle back to his waiting hand. Then he volunteered his thoughts. "The thought had crossed my mind before, but Keeper is a bit more challenging than just taking out other players with bludgers. The whole angry-swing-smash caveman mentality is not really my thing," he said with a sly grin.

"Like you can compete with these eyes or these dimples, Kim." he retorted, amused, as he wondered which of them was more vain. It was hard to say, actually, since he was partially serious and partially not. (He was a handsome bloke, thank you, and he was a little miffed Jae refused to admit it. He could say Jae was just slightly-inferior in the good looks department, after-all. Merlin but Alex was rubbing off on him. What were his thoughts, even.)

One couldn't ignore the sheer level of competitiveness between the two boys, though, on every front imaginable. He figured the other boy was just as game as he was to argue the point, actually, which was always fun. He liked a challenge, personally. It didn't exactly fill him with enthusiasm when his opponents were talentless drolls.

"We sure will." he agreed, feeling confident, despite the obstacles that lay ahead. Despite knowing you couldn't win it all Ben had a tendency of going into games optimistic and enthused. For one he loved the game and for second he tried in his everyday to be as prepared as someone could be. He trained and spent hours honing his skills and physical fitness. "I thought Hufflepuffs were above lying." he snorted, knowing full well if Jae won he'd be gloating for fucking years about it. "You mean we have to hone strength and accuracy on top of our reflex and speed. Though I could definitely see how the complexity of the position goes beyond your limited scope and understanding." he shot back, a mean little grin on his face.

The implication was, of course, quite clear though it in no way lessened his original meaning. Jae would be a mean bloody beater, he was sure. He sort of wanted to go up against him to see.

"Danvers, don't embarrass yourself," Jae replied just as quickly, his expression haughty with confident arrogance. There weren't a lot of things he was certain about (well actually there were, but this was more subjective than the facts he usually based his opinions on) but the fact that he was handsome was undeniable. He wasn't even trying to be a dick about it really. It's just how it was.

He tossed the quaffle in the air, sliding over on his broom, to catch it with the opposite hand, an easy juggling maneuver as he shook his head at Ben. "Honestly, the house stereotypes are so annoying. Or do you like everyone thinking you're a manipulative, 'cunning' little twit?" he asked with one brow raised. If there was one thing he could change about Hogwarts, it would be the house segregation. It was honestly a ridiculous notion and maybe it was because he never really identified with the 'Hufflepuff values' but Jae really hated the whole concept.

He was already preparing his facts and evidence and various exhibits of why the house sorting system was beyond stupid if Danvers gave him even the slightest opening (Jae wouldn't mind an argument just about now), but they had moved on to another discussion point that Jae didn't mind arguing over. "Oh yes so complex, swing bat at ball, very difficult to comprehend," Jae said dryly with a grin as he circled his broom behind Danvers.

Of course, now he wanted to try it just because Ben thought he couldn't. He wondered how well his Keeper skills would translate to another position. He imagined the reflex time and agility would work well, but he wondered if the core and arm strength would suffice. Perhaps he might try it the next time he had the pitch to himself, just to see.  It certainly wasn't something he was going to embarrass himself in front of Ben with. "Do you have your graceful defeat face prepared? Or did you want to keep going with this even though you're losing terribly?" It was a lie and Jae knew they were just about even, but this whole exercise in being chasers was starting to lose its appeal.

A rather inelegant snorting sound managed to escape him, though he would concede the other boy was objectively attractive. Two things could be true, after all, but admitting to it would mean the same as agreeing that he was right, which went against his instinctual need to be the one in the right.

He did take the time to study the Hufflepuff, cataloguing any struggle he could and imprinting it to memory for future use. "Everyone does anyway." he said with a careless shrug, smirk curling along his lips. Out of every house Slytherin had it the hardest. You couldn't even breathe outside the dormitories without someone assuming something negative. "Slytherins are evil little racists, didn't you know?" he said sarcastically, his gaze flickering up towards the Hufflepuff. "Not capable of a single thought past following the next self stylized dark lord as a puddle of talentless sycophant." he added, raising his eyebrow a bit.

He knew exactly what those stereotypes could mean, and he regretted that they had stemmed from somewhere. "Yes because catching a ball is difficult." he added, grinning, as he took his own shot. "Haven't had much cause to practice lately." he said with a grin, though he knew he was terrible when he lost. Ben wasn't a graceful loser and he doubted that was a character flaw he could move past. "Last one to the ground has to pick up the equipment?" he offered once it seemed they'd both sort of got bored playing a position neither of them favored.

He dove down without waiting for a reply, knowing Jae was hot on his heels. Funner way to end practice, in his opinion.

{out!}

Everyone does anyway? Really? That's what Danvers was relying on? Jae sighed and looked heavenward even as he began to describe the issues that were slated against his house. He smiled a bit. "Yeah, your house does have it a bit worse," he conceded about the stereotypes. "That's why house sorting is a ridiculous notion and why we should just do away with houses altogether. You know, there are other established schools around the world that don't sort students into arbitrary houses," he added.

He watched Ben throw the next quaffle, following the trajectory, and admitting only to himself that Danvers might make a decent chaser. He wouldn't stand a chance against a quality keeper like Jae, but could be decent enough. Not that he was going to share that. Ben didn't need another reason to increase his already inflated ego.

At the challenge, Jae nodded, hoping he'd make Ben do most of the work, but the Slytherin was moving before Jae could blink and he shouted out a curse as he followed him quickly, landing behind him only seconds later and grumbling the whole time he picked up the equipment and levitated it back toward the equipment shed. "You're a cheat," he said decisively before they made their way up to the castle.

/end