Flashback Spending Time Without Father

[Kars]

Everyone in his pavilion was asleep. If he was going to do it, it had to be now.

Kars snatched his arrow and his shortbow that he had been using that day, and took off out of the tent. He criss-crossed his way through Endrykas, following the path he and his father had taken earlier. He paused for a second, upon reaching the edge of the city.

This was it, he thought. If he wanted to get better, this is what he had to do.

He ventured out, as he and his father had earlier that day, to the small tree where those birds were perched. Silently He topped the hill where he had been target practicing. Behind him, the city of Endrykas stretched as far as he could see. The noise much reduced, occasional instruments would drift melodies to his ears, and fires glowed abundantly; some dying down, others roaring like tempests.

Shakily, Kars turned back to his practice tree. He knocked the arrow and drew the string. Once the bow was fully felt in his hands, his fear melted away momentarily. He let the arrow fly. A dull, almost inaudible thud resounded as it struck the ground in front of the tree.

This was going to be difficult, he thought. Archery during the day was challenging enough. But with the nighttime surrounding him, it was almost impossible. Luckily the moon was really doing some justice, and provided enough light for Kars to retrieve his arrow and, upon aiming once more, slightly see the circle that was his target. This time, he actually did make it inside the ring.

As Kars practiced, the occasional sound would alert his finely tuned ears, and he would hit the ground flat and stop his breathing, looking around carefully for whatever may be there. Usually it was a snake a few meters away that passed harmlessly, or lizards crawling about in the grass. Other thing, he couldn't quite explain.

But this little ritual went on for awhile, firing, retrieving, hiding, firing some more. It got to the point where Kars' finger had become numb, and his accuracy was dropping heavily due to it.

When Kars returned to his pavilion, he dropped his bow and arrow and fell asleep almost instantly. He hadn't counted, but he expected he had hit the tree about 129 times out of 301 shots. He didn't have the mental capacity at the moment to suppose whether or not it was an improvement, but it sure felt good to practice some more. If this is what it takes, he though as he began to drift off, then so be it.

[Khida]

Grade Hold

I am putting a hold on this grade because:

• Though there is no timestamp, this thread appears to immediately follow after Spending Time With Father
• Per the grade on that thread, Kars would not be able to shoot another 300 arrows that night
• A novice archer shooting 300 arrows (or more) in one day is an issue in and of itself, as described in the earlier grade

Please address these issues, let me know you've done so, and I'll grade it. Also PM me if you have any questions or want to discuss the threads.