The Front Lawn, Sunday Afternoon

[swerval_zero]

Croquet, anyone? Zero has set up the set Rory gave her for Christmas in front of the dorm, and is trying to figure out how exactly this game works without actually, y'know, consulting the rules.

((Come play with me?))

Comments

[swerval_zero]

The rest of the equipment is set up, but probably not correctly.

[strongestgirl.livejournal.com]

Pippi picks up an orange ball and mallet set. She thinks the set up is peachy particularly if it's wrong.

[http://users.livejournal.com/___lily_evans_/]

Lily takes the Yellow ball and mallet, and looks around for the hoops, trying to decide whether or not to say anything about the... odd formation.

"Technically the hoops are supposed to make a pattern like *this*," she says, gesturing with her hands, which is probably not very helpful. "Umm, but it should work like this too," she adds quickly. "Who's first?"

[swerval_zero]

"Well, I guess since you know what's what, you can go first," Zero offers. Her mallet isn't actually part of the set, so there's no matching ball. This could be problematic.

[strongestgirl.livejournal.com]

Pippi gets the green ball from the set and hands it to Zero. It's not lime green with stickers, but still green.

[swerval_zero]

"Oh, thanks. Maybe I can paint this one. Or get some neon tape." She sets the ball down and waits for Lily.

[strongestgirl.livejournal.com]

"Sure thing... So, how is it you have an extra mallet?"

[swerval_zero]

Zero says, like it's nothing, "My old roommate gave it to me to keep the gremlins away."

[strongestgirl.livejournal.com]

"Huh, at home we just use milk for stuff like that... So you have away your old croak-ate set to the gremlins piece by piece?"

[swerval_zero]

"Milk? Hadn't thought of that. Might be worth a shot. No, she just gave me the one mallet. For whacking."

[strongestgirl.livejournal.com]

"Wouldn't that make them mad?"

[swerval_zero]

"Mostly, it just makes them flat."

[strongestgirl.livejournal.com]

[[ooc: *snerk* You owe me an ice tea and a new keyboard.

[http://users.livejournal.com/___lily_evans_/]

"All right, I can go first," Lily says after Zero has a ball. She tosses her ball down in front of the first hoop and explains as she hits it neatly through. "You have to hit you ball through each of the hoops one at a time, and then after you've gone through them all, you have to hit the stick at the other end and come back in the opposite order. If you make it through a hoop, you get another turn and if you don't, it goes to the next person. First person to make it back here wins, and you're welcome to try and hit other balls out of the way." She steps up and hits her ball towards one of the other hoops, wondering how she was going to keep the order straight. "Next?"

[swerval_zero]

"Okay, that seems easy enough." Zero hits her ball and sends it through a hoop. "Yes!"

[strongestgirl.livejournal.com]

Pippi applauds. "You get to go again!"

[swerval_zero]

Zero hits the ball and misses this time. "Your turn, Pippi!"

[strongestgirl.livejournal.com]

Pippi dropped the orange ball in the grass where the others had started. She lined up for the shot and wiggled her hips.

In her intence concentration, she could hear Mrs. Settergren's advice to her before she left Villa Villekulla... "Don't show off. Try to be a normal child once and a while, you might like it."

don't show off don't show off don't show off

Ever so gently Pippi tapped the ball. It rolled through the first arch and a little farther. As if it realised it was going the wrong way, the ball curved around of it's own accord and rolled back, it made a sharp turn towards the second arch and rolled to a stop.

Pippi breathed a sigh of relief and tapped the ball again. It came to rest against the side of the second arch.

"Your turn Lily."

[http://users.livejournal.com/___lily_evans_/]

Lily hadn't really been paying attention, so she totally missed the ball's antics. She stepped up and hit her ball through the second hoop, barely tapping Pippi's as it went through. Deciding it was too early to get mean, she picked the nearest hoop and thought it might as well be the third one. She swung the club, but didn't make good contact, so it rolled off to the side instead. "Well that was great," she said, laughing at herself.

[swerval_zero]

Zero grinned at her. "You're really good at this!" She tried to be careful aiming and everything, but the ball just went more off-course. "Hrmm. Pippi?"

[strongestgirl.livejournal.com]

Pippi's ball is right up against the arch so she taps it through at an angle.

By now she's getting a bit restless and less conserned with Mrs. Mrs. Settergren's advise. She winds up like a golfer to hit the ball, then remembers that it's not her set. So she lowers the mallet a bit and gives it a good solid hit.

This sends the ball up into the air where it bounces off a tree and lands near Zero's ball; bouncing into it which sends it up into the air and lands the green ball a few feet closer to the playing field...

"... Oops."

[strongestgirl.livejournal.com]

[[ooc: or inches depending on how off course Zero intended her ball to go... *blush*

[swerval_zero]

"Wow, swerval! Sorry you missed."

[http://users.livejournal.com/___lily_evans_/]

Lily's eyes went wide, as she did not miss the display this time. "Yeah," she added, trying not to laugh. "Better luck next time."

She stepped up and hit hers neatly towards the third loop, landing directly in front of it but not going through.

[swerval_zero]

This time, through perhaps a minor miracle, Zero manages to get hers through the second loop. Her next hit rolls up to Lily's ball, almost tapping it, but of course not going through.