Bitter morning air nipped at everyone's cheeks, and Captain Angie Lemon sincerely hoped everyone had thought to wear layers underneath their Quidditch robes. They had fifteen minutes until the start of conditioning, and people were still dragging themselves along from their after breakfast quick-changes. Some had thought to wear robes to breakfast, but there were a few slackers among the crowd.

Her broom was laying next to the two separate trunks of Quidditch equipment. An assortment of Quaffles, bludgers, and other necessary equipment were in them. First, they were going to warm-up and the assorted Quidditch Captains would be running drills to get people's energy up and hopefully to prepare them for the vigorous workout planned for the day.

She waited for everyone to show up, and spent her time writing down people's names. Angie made no attempt to talk to anyone but tried to appear open to conversation.

Mysti made it through breakfast rather fast and got into her quidditch clothes. First day of quidditch conditioning, and she didn’t want to miss a moment of it. Thankfully the Hufflepuff common room wasn’t too far away so she was able to change quickly.  It was pretty cold outside, so she made sure to wear warm things. Layers were going to be a help, especially when flying through the frigid air.

Luckily, she’d gotten around to playing a bit with her brothers when she was home.  It was difficult to not fly for Mysti. Her brothers were always pretty competitive, but they always had fun.   It was a bit warmer on the days they did play than today, though.  Flying in the cold was one of the worst things, but at least it wasn’t raining.

As she made her way to the pitch, she saw Angie sitting and looking over a list.  Mysti had talked to Angie a few times, since the younger girl was taking over as captain this year.  As… interesting a year Mysti had as captain, getting sick and now dealing with NEWTs caused her to reluctantly pass over the captainship. But Angie was definitely up for it.  The girl had definitely shown determination the previous years and was a good player.

“Hey, Angie. How’s it going?” Mysti asked as she neared the other girl.

Pax had woken up early on this cold Saturday morning and been far too excited to go back to sleep. So he had dressed extra warmly, including on of his Christmas presents, a nice matching set of chocolate brown fingerless gloves and a warm cable-knit hat pulled down over his curls. He'd got some odds looks wearing his winter woollies under his robes at the breakfast table, but he didn't care. Until whatever exerises Angie had planned got his circulation going, Pax need to keep wrapped up!

He couldn't keep from beaming as he trotted down to the Quidditch pitch, the bowl of porridge he had had for breakfast still warming him through despite the frosty air. He clutched the new broom his family had got him for his thirteenth birthday; he'd barely had it for three months and already it was the only thing he ever wanted to fly on. It was a Slipstream, not the newest thing on the market, but up there with the big names in broomsticks. It was built more for racing than Quidditch, but as Pax's best strength in the air was speed, that suited him down to the ground. Or rather, up to the sky. He maintained it dutifully and called it Lockheed.

The smile on his face only widened when he caught sight of who was already present. 'Shoulda known you two would be the first ones here!' he called out as he approached Angie and Mysti. 'I just hope I can keep up!' Pax was a little sad Mysti wasn't captain of the Hufflepuff team anymore, as he had always admired the way she could pull a team out of whatever disaster had befallen their house this time. But she was a sixth-year now, and awfully busy, and schoolwork had to come first. Besides, Angie had been a great captain so far. Her organisation of today's session was proof of that. 'This was a great idea,' he chirped happily.

Angie smiled brightly as Mysti as she walked up to her, she'd looked up to the former captain since her first day on the team in her second year, and that unwavering image of her as a guide stuck in her mind. She wanted to be just as good as Mysti had been, maybe even better; but she'd have to strive really hard to fill those shoes.

"Mysti!" She said in greeting, "I'm doing great, a little cold but nothing I can't handle. How about you? Still just as busy as usual?" She asked, knowing how tough school had been on Mysti.

She wrote down Pax's name as he approached and waved at him, "I'm sure you'll be able to keep up, Pax. Or at least we can work on making you even better. We've still got to keep breaking in that broom of yours don't we?" She asked, pointing with her quill at the broom he had in his hand.

Chloe walked on to the pitch with a smile. She carried her broom happily over her shoulder. "Angie! Darling! Brilliant idea this is!" She said, jogging over to her fellow captain, and pulling at her ponytail to tighten it against her head. She joined the circle of Hufflepuffs with a smile. She liked being up early and not having to impress her family.

Chloe had steam to burn after her break up with Heinrich. And she had been wanting to fly for the longest time. She then took the broom handle into her hand and the head of the broom on the ground. "So, what was the plan Angie? What drills are we doing today?" She asked excitedly.

There was something about a certain Ravenclaw that got Angie.... highly agitated. Was it the smile? The fact that she was a brand new Captain? Was it the red hair?

No. It was the fact that she called her Darling. If she had the chance, she'd throw a Quaffle at Chloe's head. She knew the feeling of being a new Captain, as she had been there in the begininning of the year; so she couldn't hate her for that. but honestly, calling her Darling. If set her on edge.

"Chloe! Thanks! I thought we could all use a good workout to get us in shape," she said through a bright smile that she plastered to her face. Positive thoughts Angie, think positive thoughts; she thought to herself.

She turned to the growing crowd in front of her.[1] She planned to adress what the plans were for today. Angie tossed her clipboard over by the two trunks of equipment and turned to her peers. "Alright! Let's get started shall we?"

She gave everyone a minute to quiet down before she continued on her her loud, I-am-in-charge voice. "We're going to start our day with some running. Don't groan, it's good exercise. After that, we'll do drills on the ground for a while. If you guys give me a good effort for the drills, then we'll get up in the air."

"Leave your brooms over here by the trunks! Feel free to run with whoever you like, or jog if that suits your fancy. If you start walking, you better be ready to do sprints. Unless you are incapable of running that is. Let's go!" Angie said, motioning for everyone to follow her, and for Chloe to take a place at her side. "We'll do five laps! If you slack off, we'll do more!" She said cheerfully.

1.	NPCs can fill in spots that aren't here. People can still feel free to join us as we go along! Come in late or act like you've been here for a while!

Chloe was pumped. This was a good practice. She dropped off her broom, then started to jog, getting a pace started. She was jogging next to Angie, but slowly pulled ahead. "Come on guys! Keep going!" She called back to the other runners. She wasn't going to let some fourth year run the show even if she came up with the show. She was the leader here. She was in charge.

Chloe looked back at Angie and smiled. "Darling, you may want to speed up your pace! You want to be ahead of everyone, not in the middle of them!" She smiled back, as she turned her head back to face forward, her red pony tail swishing from her strides. She had tried to go running every day over break, knowing it was a muggle thing that she could do to keep conditioned for Quidditch.

Angie bristled as Chloe tried to run ahead of her, but the fourth year kept up so that she stayed near the older Ravenclaw's side. This was her practice, and she needed Chloe to back off and realize that just because Angie was a Hufflepuff, it didn't mean she was a push-over.

"I have a name, Chloe." She said in a snarky tone, "And it's not Darling." Who did she think she was? Just because she was older didn't mean she was in charge here, but it seemed like she couldn't get that through her thick skull. She turned so she could run backwards, lifting her feet higher to avoid tripping.

"I'm going to mix it up now!" They'd gone half a lap around the pitch, and it was time to get serious. "We're going to go a little faster now! If your legs are burning, you're doing it right!" She said cheerfully, "We're doing good!"

Deep down in Angie's not-happy place, she was secretly hoping Harris would trip and break her face[1].

Just to spite her, because Chloe obviously didn't know what she was doing, Angie jogged back so she was on the side of the group next to a few younger years[2] who were struggling. "Like this," she said to them, showing them how they could lean forward a bit more to gain speed. "Make sure you're getting enough air into your body, if you breathe in through both your mouth and nose[3]," she stopped for a breath of air. "Then you'll fill up your diaphragm better. It'll prevent you from cramping up."

Satisfied once they were running better and making progress, she sprinted back up to the front of the group. After a bit, she slowed down to a jog. "We're going to do a slow jog for this part. Use the break to really stretch out the muscles in your legs and fill up your lungs with oxygen. This will prevent buildup of lactic acid, which is what gives you the burning feeling in your muscles."

1.	Speaking of breaking things, if anyone suffers an injury over the course of conditioning, feel free to have yourself and others fret over it. Depending on what they're doing, Angie will have a different reaction for each. Just try not to completely break yourself. That would be a real bummer....
2.	This can be anyone if you'd like.
3.	The old in through the nose, out through the mouth technique doesn't get your body enough oxygen when you run. But if your character believes this, feel free to challenge Angie.

Mysti was running along with the others, not right in the front, but also not in the back.  But she could hear what Chloe had said. She hadn’t interacted with the Ravenclaw too much, but by the way she was treating Angie, Mysti wasn’t too fond of her. She, too, had been young when she was Quidditch Captain. And just because you’re young, doesn’t mean you can’t be a good leader. Angie had come up with the idea for this practice, and Chloe shouldn’t be antagonizing as they were running. 

As Angie announced they were to go faster, Mysti increased her speed. She wasn’t a stranger to running, and hadn’t quite been putting her all into it for the first half around the pitch. She started jogging up towards Chloe and started keeping stride along her, then turned back to Angie, running backwards for a moment.

“Good tip, Angie! Breathing is definitely important, lest one pass out while running.” Mysti said, then turned back around and jogged up a bit ahead of Chloe, keeping her breath.

Chloe continued to jog as she saw Mysti pull up next to her, and soon passing by her. The competitive spirit was stirred up in Chloe, as she continued to run, harder and harder, not paying attention to her breathing, even after all of the warnings. Black dots threatened to cloud her vision. Her legs kept pumping, keeping pace with Mysti. She wanted to pull ahead. She wanted to pass by Mysti, and at the last moment pulled ahead of her.

Chloe went to turn around to look at the mass of players following her, but her foot got stuck in a mall divot in the Quidditch turf. Her ankle twisted at an uncomfortable angle, and she came crashing down, with a slight yelp. Chloe let out a string of swears, as she clutched at her left ankle. "Keep running guys!" Chloe went to her boot for her wand knowing exactly what spell to let off, but her trusty item wasn't inside her boot. It was then that she realized she left it in her room. Chloe tried to climb back up to a standing position, but when the shooting pain reappeared in her ankle, she went back down.

"Thanks Mysti!" Angie shouted as she passed her, flashing a smile at the older Hufflepuff. She looked up to her as a role model of sorts, and looked to her for occasional guidance on how to lead the team now. All she could hope for was to do a good job and to help Hufflepuff make a valiant effort at some point in their season... right?

She looked to where Chloe was straining herself, and watched as she went down. The expletives weren't necessary, and neither was the shout to keep running. The others would keep running after they noticed Angie jogging towards Chloe to help. She watched Chloe try to stand up again, but collapse to the ground.

"What's wrong?" Angie asked, the concern laced in her voice. She had her wand out already, and waited for Chloe to respond. It had looked like a sprain, or even a broken ankle by the way it had twisted. "Here, take my hand, I can help you across the field and you can sit down on the trunk to elevate it. You might even want to go to the hospital with such a nasty injury."

That was definitely not how Mysti wanted that to play out.  She wasn’t watching, but heard as Chloe went down. In fact, probably anyone in the quidditch stadium could hear the string of expletives the girl unleashed.  Then Mysti turned her head to look, slowing her pace.  Chloe was down, but yelled for everyone to keep going.  Then she watched as Angie went to Chloe to see what happened.  It looked to be an ankle.  Mysti decided she should keep going, as to keep the others running as well.

Chloe looked like she had hurt her ankle, and Mysti did feel bad about it.  If she hadn’t goaded her on, this wouldn’t have happened.  Then again, the Ravenclaw wasn’t exactly being nice so perhaps it was some kind of karma? That was a bad thought. Mysti would probably send some kind of apology to Chloe later, but now she had a feeling the other girl was probably a bit upset at her. But if she went to the hospital wing, the ankle could be fixed pretty quickly.

Mysti slowed a little and allowed the other students to catch up. “Let’s keep going, and make sure to keep your breath.” Mysti said, trying to keep everyone going since Angie was a little preoccupied at the moment.