A Search for Balance

Chapter 25 - Skye's Confession

"What I want," Skye said fiercely, "is to win the Cup for the Wanderers, with or without her. One player doesn't make a team, Dad. If she doesn't want to play for us, let her go."

"Careful, lassie," came Ethan's reply, sharply and promptly. "Don't think you can teach me about Quidditch. I need Lizzie Jameson on my team to win, and I'll do whatever it takes to keep her there. Now stop the whining and do what I told you. That's what I made you captain for."

Skye said something Orion didn't understand, storming through the door to Ethan's office a moment later. Ripping her captain's badge off her jacket, she threw it to the ground and stomped away in the opposite direction to where Orion was standing in the shadows. Once she was gone, he went and picked it up, thoughtfully turning it between his fingers. When he looked up, he saw Ethan standing in the doorway, watching him.

"What do you want now?"

Orion shook his head, closing his hand around Skye's badge before setting off in the direction where she had vanished. He wasn't the one in dire need of help right now.

***

He found Skye in the stands surrounding the Quidditch pitch. Upon coming closer, Orion could see that she was furiously scribbling into a red notebook, so focused on her work that she didn't even seem to mind the cold January wind blowing through the stadium. She suddenly paused, ripped out the half-finished page with an irritated sound, and tossed it to the ground, where several others were lying already.

Orion picked one up and smoothed it out, surprised to see the beginnings of a match plan.

"Isn't it the coach's prerogative to devise the team's strategy?" he asked as he sat next to her on the cold wood.

Skye glanced up from her notes. "Can't hurt to put my own two brain cells to it, can it?"

She returned her attention to her notebook but only stared at the pages, her shoulders slumped forward in discouragement. Orion extended his hand.

"May I?"

After a moment's hesitation, Skye handed him the notebook. "Ain't got much yet. Hard to say what the right approach's gonna be with Jameson just being back and all." Her face darkened. "Not even sure she should play at all, in fact."

Orion's eyes fell on the line-up Skye had scribbled in the upper right-hand corner. She had listed four Chasers - Orion and herself, then Lizzie and Morgaine. The latter two had been repeatedly crossed out and written down again.

"As captain, your personal grievances must never cloud your judgement," Orion said, taking Skye's quill and underlining Lizzie's name. "The three of us have helped our team to victory before, and I'm confident we will continue to do so."

Skye looked at him from the corners of her eyes. "You sure you're qualified to talk about this personal grievance thing?"

Orion paused his writing. "Have I ever led our team astray?"

"No, I suppose not." She inhaled deeply. "Right, what do you suggest?"

Orion drew lines and circles until they formed a rudimentary diagram. Doing so felt strange to him; he hadn't worked out a strategy chart since his time at Hogwarts.

"The Wasps lost their first match against us and will be eager for retribution. Their Beaters' aim is their greatest asset, and our Seeker will be most at risk of being stung. Tell me, Skye, do you know what a hoverfly is?"

Taken aback by the sudden change of topic, Skye blinked. "Those pesky little buggers that look like wasps?"

Orion nodded. "They are harmless but use their brothers' colours to hide from danger in plain sight."