2025-06-25 - BATTLEBALL!

Christopher is dressed in a pair of black joggers and a plain grey t-shirt with some soccer cleats on his feet that look brand new. He probably got them just for this since it's unlikely he owns cleats or has them lying around. He makes his way over to the field area of the park with a water bottle in hand that is bright green with blue and purple swirls on it. That gets set down on the grass out of the way for later, or between innings, or whatever goes on in the middle of Battleball. "Hey," he says as he approaches Hayley. "I'm Chris. Are you Hayley? I'm here for Battleball!"

A sharp blow of her whistle, and Hayley brings both her hands up to clap them together, letting the whistle fall from her lips as Hayley calls out, loudly, "Everyone! Gather up! We have a few quick rules to go over!" Her hand lifts high, a single finger raised in the air. "Rule number one! You are going to be split into two teams at random, and your goal is to get either of the balls into the other team's goals. You must get the soccer ball into the basketball hoop, and the basketball into the soccer goal."

She lets that sink in, then raises a second finger. "These balls work like you'd expect! You may only touch the basketball with your hands, and the soccer ball with your feet!"

A third finger. "Magic is allowed and encouraged!"

A fourth. "Don't hospitalize each other!"

Then she steps back, grinning, and nods to Chris, upticking her chin. "Yep, you're in the right spot," she assures him.

Wearing a pair of heather grey shorts, a black tanktop, and a pair of cleats that look beaten to hell, Dodge ambles along to the field in time to hear Christopher introducing himself and Hayley explaining the rules of battleball.

"Hi," she chimes at Chris. "I'm Dodge. Nice to meet you." She surveys the playing area and kicks idly at the dirt with her cleats, and then decides she will start stretching to limber up. No pulled hammies!

Maggie is here to play. She has no idea what Battleball might be, but, she's here to play. She's wearing a bright pink long-line sports bra and matching biker shorts, paired together beneath a soft white hoodie. She's wearing a pair of well-broken-in running shoes, but there is a pair of cleats in her hands, too. They look old af, though. Her long curls are held up in a messy high bun held with a white scrunchii.

"Hey," Maggie announces to the group she finds gathered around the field. "I'm Maggie. What's Bat..." She doesn't have to figure that out, because Hayley is laying out the rules before she can finish asking. Dodge stretching out pre-game is smart, and Maggie rolls her shoulders before stretching out a bit as well. "Sounds complicated, and I'm totally going to get the wrong balls in the wrong holes, but, I'm here for it anyway."

Did Iseul show up with any inkling whatsoever of what Battleball is? Newp. Did she show up dressed for either battle, or ball? Again with the 'newp.' Firstly, because whenever something involves the word 'battle,' she's not naive or foolish enough to think she'd do anything but make herself — or those poor individuals unlucky enough to stumble into her close proximity — look a complete fool. Secondly, because... well, somebody has to bring the snacks! Which is why she would appear to be holding a generously sized, sealed container between both of her hands as she draws up to the edge of the field with a curious grin.

Those very, very dumb and probably too-complicated rules explained, Hayley brings her whistle to her lips and blows it once more. Just because. Because why not? "ALRIGHT!" she calls out loudly, turning in place and looking at those who have gathered. Iseul, well, she's clearly not playing, but the tub of snacks does earn a very, very approving nod from her. Then she points toward people at random.

"You, you, and you!" she says, pointing toward Maggie, Christopher, and Dodge, as well as two others. "You're going to be a team of five on this side," she says, holding out an arm toward Iseul's left, because that's the stable reference point here. The two others start heading that way -- one taller guy with short hair who lifts a hand, introducing himself as Devin, and a lean, smaller redhead by the name of Zoey both join the three employees.

A similar team of five is made on the other side after some points.

As soon as the game begins, Christopher makes a rush across the field, going for the basketball. As he does, the earth beneath him suddenly rumbles and a hole opens up in front of him as earth is displaced out to either side. He almost falls in, but sees it just in time to jump across the gap before he ends up face-planted into the grass. Grabbing the basketball, he makes his run for the goal!

Dodge waves when she recognizes Maggie from Cryptid Club, and smiles at Iseul, giving her a huge double thumbs up for bringing the snacks!

At Hayley's instruction, she goes over to Christopher and Maggie and Devin and Zoey to join them and prepare to play--and then it's time!

As Christopher goes for the basketball, Dodge goes for the soccer ball, dribbling it up the side of the field and then kicking it high into the air in the direction of the basketball hoop, though slightly off... when it's intercepted by a great horned owl who snatches the soccer ball out of the sky to try dunk it in the hoop, though harried by some air turbulence by way of an opposing team member.

Maggie finishes stretching and then sits down on the ground and changes out of her sneakers and into her old cleats. After, as teams are being assigned, she lifts a hand to wave at Dodge, Christopher, Devin, and Zoey, calling over, "Dodge. Lovely to repeat it!" To everyone else, "Great meeting y'all!" Once the five of them are out on the field, with both balls tackled in hopes of scoring for their team, Maggie decides she's most useful trying to stop the other team from scoring points of their own. Someone's got to goalie, and Maggie's old cleats hint she might have once had a bit of practice for it.

Once Maggie is there, though? She's only barely in position when Clarice comes barrelling right down the field towards her. Clarice sends the ball flying, and Maggie gets her game face on, going hard for the block to deny the other team the point while her side is working on getting their own points on the board.

Iseul grins brightly and waves back to Dodge following the thumbs-up, taking note of the others that comprise the team. Obviously, she's going to be squarely situated in the Team Christopher-Maggie-Dodge-Devin-Zoey cheering squad — she even goes so far as to start things off with a rousing cheer from her little spot on the sidelines: "Hwaiting!" Pretty much sounds like 'fighting,' but those who listen closely enough would pick up on the slight pronunciation difference, particularly in the first consonant sound.

It's something of a stomp. Devin manages to sneak in a steal around a larger man, an image of him feinting in one direction as the real thing keeps going, kicking the ball soccer ball away from his opponent on the other side, while Zoey goes full-on Mister Fantastic, bringing her hand back and grabbing onto the basketball as it tries to go past her, returning it to the field of play in a spot where no one else is able to take advantage of it.

There's a brief whistle from Hayley, who brings her hands up, clapping and cheering, calling, "That's how you play! Keep it up!" Dodge and Bartholomew keep each other at bay, while Maggie complete blocks off Clarice's approach -- and gives enough of an opening that Christopher is able to get a clear shot into the goal, the basketball sailing in, bouncing off the back of the net, and being returned to the center by the grass itself.

"That's a point! Next round!"

Christopher and Abraham seem pretty evenly matched. When he gets the goal, he throws his arms into the air in victory. But then the ball is returned to center and it's time for another go. He takes off to try to grab the ball but just as he reaches for it, it suddenly shrinks to the size of a golf ball and he not only misses grabbing it, but stumbles clear past it as Abraham is able to get past him and pick it up. Oops!

Dodge doesn't get her hands (or feet, as it were) on the soccer ball this time, and is forced on the defense, backtracking to protect the hoop from Bartholomew's advance. He tries to sprint towards the hoop, and Dodge summons a pool of shadow to stain the area of the hoop like matte ink, absorbing the light and making it exponentially more difficult to see the hoop, let alone score on it.

Maggie calls over to Christopher, "Nice shot! Way to goal it!" She may have absolutely blocked Clarice the last round, but this round she's picked up new tricks. She notices Dodge's trick with the net, and she's impressed. "Ok, camera girl. I see you!" What she doesn't see is Clarice as she phases out of existence over there and into it again over here and Maggie is diving towards the opposite corner of the goal where she had been in hopes of still somehow managing the block.

Watching the events unfold on the field, Iseul appears perfectly fascinated by the various methods the players are using to 'battle' over the balls, evade or block their opponents, and score goals for their respective teams. The rules Hayley had laid out were reasonably simple, but seeing it all in action makes things even clearer — and fun! So engrossed is she that she doesn't notice another spectator (she can't have been the only one drawn by mere curiosity, after all) sidling up to her with eyes on the container in her arms until she's being nudged in the side, making her jump and let out a sheepish laugh. "Hey! Hungry?" she asks, as she starts to peel back the container's lid.

Perhaps Chris had gotten a little too confident with that initial goal. Perhaps Abraham had grown more determined afterward. Either way, the two are back and forth across the field doing battle over that basketball. "One more," he murmurs under his breath. Chris isn't typically a real competitive sports kind of person, but he's out there in the field giving it his best. He's so focused on the ball he almost misses the hand pie that appears in Abe's hand. He narrowly avoids getting smacked in the face with a pie, but tumbles into the grass and Abe neatly keeps giong right past him. "Look out, got one coming through!" he shouts to his teammates.

Once again, Bartholomew gets the ball before Dodge can, and he takes off the ground and starts streaking through the air towards the basketball hoop--but he drops the ball! And not only does he drop it, but he drops it right into Dodge's midst, and she turns around and races with it up the field before Bart can get turned around and stat chasing after her. She kicks and nails a lucky shot, then whirls in the direction of Chris' shout in time to see Abe racing by, but not in time to do anything about it.

Oooooooooh, pie! Maggie sees Christopher almost take one to the face before it sails past him overhead, and honestly, it mostly just makes her want a snack. But she's tired of just blocking Clarice and all her tricksy tricks, so someone else is going to have to try and slow down Abraham. The upside, since Clarice is expecting Maggie to be playing defense, now that she's jogging for the offensive, Maggie just gets to the ball a half step before Clarice does. Maggie's fighting for every single inch of ground trying to outrun Clarice with that basketball held in her hands.

Maggie is a jogger, not a sprinter - and it shows. Clarice is right on her heels. Once she's semi-close, Maggie isn't risking Clarice stealing the ball, and when there is suddenly a second Clarice? Nah. She's not fighting off a twofer. She lifts the ball over her head with both hands and just hurls it towards the goal. She's not very close to it. It could go short, or wide, or bounce off the frame. But a miss is better than a double tackle any day. She throws it as hard as she can and just hopes for the best.

Revealing the contents of the container in her hands to the lanky fellow who'd wandered up for a peek, Iseul explains, "They're called hotteok — stuffed pancakes made with rice flour. This side has a mix of brown sugar, walnuts and cinnamon inside," she clarifies with an illustrative gesture of her free hand, "and these others have seasoned potato and cheese. Help yourself." Yeeeaahh, he'd absolutely grab one and mumble a thanks around the first mouthful before wandering off. They look tasty as heck.

As a pie sails over Chris's face - steak and ale, thank you very much - Abe passes the ball off to Bartholomew, who sails in the air. As he's flying off, Zoey and Devin pull themselves back in together again and bullrush Donovan and Edith, not the most skillful, subtle play of abilities, but it manages to get the ball into a spot where more of the team has to go on the defensive.

Maggie's nudge gets the ball toward the goal, and Edith Zoey manages to head butt it in -- and at the same time as it slowly rolls in...

WHAM

A solid, hard kick sails the ball through the air, and through the hoop.

TWEET TWEET TWEET TWEET

Hayley blows the whistle five times, and calls, "THAT'S TIME! THE WINNERS ARE THE HOT TEAM!" she calls, motioning toward Christopher, Maggie, Dodge, Zoey and Devin.

Chris is down, but the rest of the team pulls through and he cheers them on, "Go go go! You got this!" And when they manage to pull off a victory, he cheers Maggie, Dodge, Zoey and Devin on. "You guys rock!" With the game over and having just narrowly missed getting a pie to the face, Chris drags himself up to his feet and dusts himself off, blades of grass fluttering off his joggers. He takes a moment to go offer a handshake to the opposing team before joining the "Hot Team" to offer them congrats. "This was a lot of fun," he says to Hayley before noticing Iseul's container of goodies. "Oh, those smell good.." and that pie made him hungry.

Maggie had no idea what to expect from Battleball, but, even if they had lost, she would have been glad she came. They didn't lose, though, so Maggie is ecstatic. "Y'all are amazing," she declares to the rest of her team, but then shakes hands with the other side, wishing them good games and thanks for playing. Joining back with Dodge and Christopher and Devin and Zoey, she tells them all, "This was fun. Y'all were incredible, thanks for the fun times." She calls over to Hayley, their ref for the night, "Thanks for getting all of us together for this, it was a blast!" Then, she's following Christoper's line of sight to Iseul and her tupperware. "Ooooooooh, snacks!"

Now that the match has completed with a win for the team she'd been cheering on, Iseul is all smiles at the sidelines. Removing the container's lid altogether and tucking it beneath, she offers it out toward Christopher and Maggie. "Go ahead and take one — hey, take two if you like. Victor, spoils, all that." There's about a dozen of each type, sweet and savory, so there's plenty for anyone who wants to nom.