Match 1: Saffron VS. Lavender!

[Assistants]

A giant banner is stretched across the entrance of the beach, marking off reserved time slots for the following weeks of Sand Court Volleyball. The sign is white with giant black letters reading, "LAVENDER VERSUS SAFFRON: WHO WILL WIN?" A small note has been attached to the sign, a poster sized letter to both teams.

"Greetings and salutions Saffron and Lavender! Welcome to your first session of Beach Volleyball! As you know, you'll be going against each other in a head to head battle of wits and stamina! As your team captains have informed you, an order should have been set for your team to determine the posting order. Determined by a coin toss with the admins, Vincenzo Porescetti of Team Lavender will be our first post. Following him will come the first member of Team Saffron and then everyone follows in alternation. The rules are up ahead by the court so you don't forget and an admin will be posting every so often to remind people of rotations and things like that! Good luck to both teams and have fun!"

Stapled to a post next to the court, a giant white sign has simplified the rules of the game, allowing everyone to read over it quickly before they enter the court. An admin sits in a chair level with the net, ready to call points and fouls should the situation arise.

1) Clothing required.

2) Play fair.

3) Serve behind the line.

4) Win by 2 and points are given based on faults, floor hits, and errors.

5) Six players on at once, three substitues allowed.

6) Three hits allowed on each side.

7) Violations are obvious.

Once everyone is on the court and ready to begin, the admin sitting above the net adjusts their glasses and shifts around in their chair. "Begin!"

[Vincenzo Porascetti]

Alright this was it. The first event of Summer Madness. Vincenzo was the most excited person in the entire world right now as this event was right up his alley. He was extremely athletic and very competitive. He was ready to win this and ready to come out on top. The sand felt very good beneath his toes as he dug them in to get his grip. He was first up in serving and he didn't want to screw it up. He looked around at his team. There were a couple familiar faces but not many of them were friends of his. He had not met a lot of them rather than just seen them in the halls of the school or out and about.

The referee started explaining the rules of the game. As if he didn't know them. This was NOT his first time playing volleyball but the referee obviously didn't know this. He waited patiently for the referee to finish up with the rules though it was taking longer than he had anticipated. This was good, he guessed considering he didn't want the other members of his team to not know the rules and screw up, causing them to lose the point for our team. He was hoping Lavender can come out on top and he really hoped that there would be no losing in the near future (or long term future) for Vincenzo. This game had to be played perfectly.

They were done with the rules and Vincenzo was tossed the ball. He was getting a bit nervous, or was that just the adrenaline already heating his body? Probably a mixture of both. Oh man how badly he wanted this was unbelievable. He tossed the ball around and around in his hands waiting for that whistle to be blown. The suspense was killing him. He looked over at the other site of the court to see what the other team looked like. Very interesting teammates. They had some tall, some short, some male, some female, some who had the same expression on his face, and some who didn't seem to care at all. This was good.

TWEEEEEET

The whistle was blown. SWEET it was game on. He took a deep breath, adjusted his feet, and threw the ball in the air. As it came down, he hit it with full force. His serves were not that great. SHOOT it hit the net! "FOUL"

[/color] the referee yelled. Ya ya ya he knew that. Shoot if he screwed this one up then it was the other teams ball and point! He couldn't let that happen. He took a very calming, deep breath, and threw the ball in the air again. YES IT WENT OVER! Here's where the real game began.

As it went over the net, the team was ready. It was bumped hard by the team captain and then set by a black haired ninth grader who Vince recognized as Ryland, his roomate. He was on the other team? He laughed, this would be a good discussion back at the dorm. Ryland set it up and then the ball was spiked PERFECTLY by the teacher on that team and came back to our side. Rin volleyed it up perfectly (which was strange because Vincenzo and Rin had met and she did NOT seem like the sporty type at all. He was proud of her though!) Brianna then set it perfectly. One of the players in the front wasn't paying attention, so Vincenzo decided to take action. It was like slow motion for him and he couldn't let that ball touch the ground. He ran up to it, jumped, and spiked it over. He heard it land on the ground with a thud as two players from the other team had both tried to get it but missed. They had scored their first point.

Cheers erupted and he high fived his team. YESS he was so happy right now. Now if only they could keep this up. It was the other teams turn to try and do the exact same thing that just happened. Hopefully this doesn't cause them to score the point and Lavender can keep their lead, but who knows in this game. Go Lavender!

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W O R D S;; 825
T A G;; SUMMER MADNESS PLAYERS
N O T E S;; WOOT FOR SCORING THE POINT! Thanks for picking a good number for me
C R E D I T;; hey it's SHMEY! @ caution 2.0
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[Jayden Richardson]

Jay and sports were friends – they had never been friends....EVER! Sure, he was excited about the Summer Event but seriously, Volleyball! He had never played Volleyball in his life or any other type of land sport for that matter. Jay was a lover of water sports such as, Surfing and Bodyboarding– well, he was a semi-aquatic animal after all. Plus side though, it was on the beach, and Jayden loved the beach so that wasn’t so bad. He was glad that Ryland and Roxxi were on his team, at least two translators for him if he needed. Jayden sighed, adrenaline getting to him, and he suddenly felt pumped for the game.

The referee explained the game, which was a major help, since Jay and probably the rest of his team didn’t know the rules. As he quickly examined the faces, he knew some of them were feeling nervous so he gave them an encouraging smile before focussing on the rules some more. The rules of the game seemed simple enough but Jayden had a feeling that once the game was played, it would get a whole lot more interesting.

Once the rules were explained, each team went to the positions. Jay noticed Blossom and quickly surmised that she was on the opposite team – oh lovely, this’d be a joyous match. He hurriedly shook himself all over so that he was limber – well, he was quite limber and was a born an acrobatic but you get the idea. He gave an encouraging smile to his teammates before....

TWEET!

And the game started! The Lavender team captain fouled once but then shot the ball over the net the second time and Jay managed to bump it and was then set by Ryland. Gieseke then spiked it PERFECTLY, making the ball go to the other side. Rin then volleyed it – wait, Rin was on the other team, oh boy! One of the Lavender team girls set and the captain dived in to stop the ball from falling to the ground. Unfortunately, Virginia and Christopher both went for the ball, causing the other team to score a point. Jayden, slighted by the turn of events, threw his arms in frustration. It was then Jay’s turn to serve so he grabbed the ball and went to the serving position.

FOUL!

Jay shook his head and mentally told himself to just go for it. He served again, causing it to go over. Blossom bumped it, the Lavender captain setting it up. Roxxi spiked it, making Brianna hit it. Unfortunately, Ryland missed it, causing the other team to gain another point.

[Natsumi Sayuri]

+ NATSUMI SAYURI +
•••CALL ME RIN•••


My beautiful liar why are you crying on your knees?
You've crucified yourself and now denial is rising...rising...

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She didn't like this, didn't like it all -- there was too much going on, too many people, sounds, voices echoing in her ears. Just too much in general. The sun was too hot. The water too close. The people were too loud; Gods, how could they be so loud? So energetic? The very sun seemed to be sapping away her energy, sucking her dry as if it were being siphoned through a fucking straw. What was she supposed to do here? Stand while everyone moved? While everyone slid too close, brushed up against her skin? It was too raw here, under the sun, with the ocean just out of reach. It mocked her with each insistent crash upon the shore: laughing, like those around her.

And she felt it -- the anger licking up her spine, unleashing the beast which had been slumbering contentedly until now. Awakened by the discomfort, by the perceived mockery, the pride and wildness of the Wolf seemed to descend upon her like a war-cry, shivering up her spine, into each finger point. She couldn't escape it, didn't want to escape it. Like a druggie finally finding the weapon of her release she nearly lunged into the very Wolf which was trying to take hold of her. Her fingers reached out, her heart calling, calling, submitting to it, accepting the alien force, becoming something other, something feral, wild -- omnipotence shattered her weak-minded discomfort. All of it gone, gone, slipping free of the confines of her natural shyness. What did the Wolf need of shyness? She was a wild thing, a wild fire escaping the very torch which held her; she would run and run, grabbing her happiness viscerally between her jaws, not wait for it to come to her.

No one could stop her -- and she snarled, those petite lips turning upward in a sneer, her eyes glistening black, as sin, as the wickedness that was at once part of Rin, and apart of her. At once separate, and intertwined, she snuggled herself against the heat, that brilliance that the Wolf gave off; she was the presence that Rin could never hold onto on her own. Without her, she was nothing. The ball had come at her, and she had bumped it up, the Wolf growling out from the subconscious currents of her thoughts.

She didn't even know what was going on around her -- there was too many voices, too many scents clashing into her sensitive nose. Burning scents, soothing scents -- stench of body odor, of being in the sun too long. Sweat pooled along the curves of shoulders, dipping between woman's breasts and men's chest. Clashing, revolting, there was simply too much for the Wolf to fully comprehend; Vince landed a point, but she didn't even know. Her eyes kept darting around, her ears twitching, twitching, the little socket in her temple shifting erratically as she ground her teeth, as a steady growl locked behind her lips, silenced. Things were getting too heated, too close. Get away from me! she wanted to scream, to howl, to rip apart the clothes which bound her and run away from this fun.

Yet the cold stench of Murazar's presence stalled her, made her feet remain on sand when she would have preferred to flee to the colder shade of the forest floor. In the forest, she had tasted of victories; in the sea, only failures. Why be where there was only failure in every corner? Mocking her every living breath? The waves crashed ceaselessly, the other team moved, but it was just outside noise as she slid around, light on her toes, dodging the motion of others jostling around her. She couldn't take this for much long; her eyebrows were drawing closer together, the wild gleam in her eyes become stark and cruel -- humanity dying away in her hungry need to explode, to simply free herself from this entanglement.

Yet like a dog she remained, if only to please him, to know that when she next saw him she could smile brightly and tell him what she had done. He would be proud, right? Right? The Wolf snapped it's fangs, brilliant white flashing across her mind as Rin shifted forward on her toes, then bounced backward when a team mate told her to move. Words gathered behind her tongue, but she kept herself silent by sheer force of will. The ocean masked all scents, powerful, like blood to saturate the air so nothing could sniff through it -- but the Wolf tried, constantly, constantly, jostled by the motion of the ball. Was it that important? She stared at it, knowing in some part of her mind it was the whole point of the game, but the Wolf was disinterested and constantly shifted Rin's attention to the side.

A scent, astray and shifting called to her, recognition hitting her between the eyes as she whipped her head around, looking wildly for the source -- meeting a pair of pale blue eyes; blood seemed to ripple through her nose -- and it wasn't simply her own. Her wound pulled at her every motion, but the pain was dulled by heavy medication. C-Could she be her? Could this girl be the one who had been claimed? The Wolf licked it's lips, growl slithering through her mind, shivering through the synapses in her brain. Fire, alive and wicked pulled at the Wolf to know, to find out -- but the game, the game! Focus on the game! Stupid girl with her head pulled in so many directions! Focus on the god-damned game!

Her eyes, briefly, met Vince's -- a shock of recognition, the shouting of her teammates -- the ball, the stupid ball! It was coming at you, stupid, look! Don't look around! The Wolf leapt forward, intertwining strength and reflexes so beautifully it was almost a shame to waste it on something so trivial as volley ball game. Rin snarled as she turned, the delicate features turning into nothing cute or beautiful -- but feral, monstrous almost, though she still held the form of human, though she was still only five feet high, and built like a trophy to be slung over someone's arm. The snarl snapped out of her throat, her eyes seeming to flash, to turn to a pitiless, merciless black as a growl ripped through the vocal cords, as muscles coiled; it was probably due to luck, rather than design that she got the point.

Definitely due to shock as others paused, put off by this strange display; nothing human, but a Wolf in human's skin, little hand slapping the stupid ball down, hard -- harder than it should have been. Her other hand on her neighbors shoulder, pushing her higher than she could have jumped on her own. The other team fumbled, causing Lavender to score another point. When sand settled, Rin noticed for the first time it was Jay on the other side of the next; grinning suddenly she waved a little too enthusiastically. The motion, of course, reminded her of how utterly hot she was, and pulling away her shirt from her skin, she snorted derisively. Without even glancing around at who's turn it was, she turned her back on the game, pulling the shirt up over her head and tossing it to the side line; she moved where she was supposed to, the black bikini almost hidden under the wealth of her hair. However, it also revealed the large wound on her side, stretching down from arm pit, nearly to hip, as if someone had sought to gut her and failed, miserably. The wound remained closed, wrapped in an abundance of medical tape. Hands running through her hair, Rin sighed, agitated by this whole mess. Now what was she supposed to do?

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word count;; 1305
tags;; Lavender and Saffron team-peoples!
OOC;; bahahahahaha -amused-

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[guess2]

]

+ ALESDAIR LUAN TORIN +
•••CALL ME ALEC•••


I can't be alone tonight, the slow water laps against the snow and ice,
There's something calling me; there's something human in that voice.
• • •

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The waves crashed, the sand flew up in everyone's faces; there was energy, there was spitefulness, there was competition. The ball was the center of attention, everyone rivetted on something so trivial, on something so ridiculously stupid. There was unity. There was friendship, and teamwork -- blue eyes sliding to the side, he watched as breathless teammates laughed, as they dove for the ball. In the midst of motion, of rebellion there was Alec Torin, skinny, young and ... completely bored with it all.

Pinching the ridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger, he was the only motionless one, a dark spot of nothingness in the midst of lively joviality. Was this the price of being different? There was no one purposefully ignoring him, no bullying, no nothing; just Alesdair, looking around at everyone else, at a loss at what he's supposed to be doing.

Of course, the idea of simply walking off the court was growing more and more tantalizing; veins seemed to be burned in his retina when he closed his eyes, when his shoulder slouched inward and he stuffed his hands in his pockets, looking awkward and out of place.

Nothing left, but this motionless, this thoughtlessness as his skimmed the faces of his teammates with mild contempt, disgusted by the easy-going way in which they befriended each other. They laughed and smiled, and joked -- it didn't matter to them that they were losing, because they were so sure that everything was going to turn out all right. They were certain that if they tried hard enough, worked hard enough, it would be perfectly fine.

Alec, who had never had anything work out couldn't believe the easiness to which these stupid people gave themselves over to this emotion. There was hope in every eye, delight in every girl's smile, victory in every guys. His nose twitched as he sidestepped, as the rest of the team surged to filli n the gap and try to get the ball over. They didn't say anything to him; the boy smiled, slightly, amused by the shadow of kindness which had pushed him into the dark.

It didn't help that they were losing now. Two to zero? Three? He wasn't sure, but it was pretty obvious they weren't doing so well. As Saffron managed to serve the ball over the net, Alec, who's heart was made of clocks and gears, who hated human emotion, more than anything else, felt the hope rising. It felt like a disgusting tongue running up the line of his spine; he stared at his teammates as they watched, as they awaited the return, hoping, hoping, hoping -- and Alec curse. "Can't be helped." he muttered in resignation as the ball came right to him. Of course, of fucking course.

Softie, idiot.

He positioned himself below it and jumped up, smacking the ball down; who knew why it went in. He didn't fucking care. Feeling the optimism of his team suddenly rise, Alec felt disgusted, but the gap between himself and others was closing, slowly, inevitably. I shouldn't be here. -- he thinks. Finding himself uncomfortable under everyone's sudden stare.

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word count;; 526
tags;; everyone
OOC;; this post sucked ass. Oh well.

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[deimonallred]

((I’M the team captain… *grumble* Not Vinny(doesn’t feel like typing out his whole name).. *sulks* ))

As soon as the game started, the field was like a war zone. And in the mass of this war zone was Deimon, the small, but determined Lavender Team Captain. Her bouncy curls were pulled back in a tight ponytail, dressed in a simple, but vibrant red bathing suit. Before she was even aware of it the game was underway…

All of a sudden, Deimon was pumped. Alright! If the others on her team could do it, so could she! She’d show them that height didn’t matter! All she had to do was score a point when it was her turn. If only that was as easy to do as it was to say….

From where she was positioned on the court, Deimon ran into little action. The ball seemed far more focused on staying far from the girl, which was rather aggravating to say the least. But she was able to watch the rest of her team, cheering enthusiastically with each hit over the net, even if it was hit back! Sure she’d touched the ball once before, but after that she’d just kept to her corner, so as not to leave an opening.

Soon, it was her turn to serve- Wait, HER turn?! She had to serve?! Oh this wouldn’t work to well… Reluctantly, she walked the path of shame as she approached the server spot. She didn’t want to cause the other team getting a point!

With a deep breath, she was finally ready. Slowly she grinned, remembering her promise to herself only a few minutes before. She’d show them height didn’t matter. If anything, it made her twice as determined. Ball in hand, she tossed it over her head, her other hand slapping the ball hard as it began it’s descent towards earth.

Flying.. flying… Over the net now! Yes! She got it over the net! Instantly though, someone on the other team sent it flying back. Curses…. Why couldn’t it have stayed over there?! Grumbling, she took a few steps forward as Rin spiked the ball back once more. Seriously, Rin was doing really good! Who was it on the other team that sent bumped it back? She had no idea, It was one of those guys though. Well, it was time to just watch and see what hap- Wait a minute… THE BALL WAS COMING BACK TO HER!

Slightly wide eyed, Deimon scrambled back to her senses. The ball was coming back! No! Go away ball! Like she’d be able to hit it back over the net again! That was a once in a life time thing before! So, she did the first thing that came to mind. Blindly try to hit the ball!

She felt the ball make contact with her folded fingers, before bouncing off. She didn’t look. She didn’t want to see those disappointed looks from her team mates.

Cheers… She could hear cheers? It sounded like Lavender’s side though! Quickly looking back to the game she saw it. The ball… Resting in the sand on the other side of the net. Gapping, all she could think was ‘I SCORED!’

((Finally! I've had this written up since the start of the event!!!! ))