10th of Fall 519
Pluckett trotted down the path to the Hunter's Guild. It was another hot day, a relief from the previous seasons. Sweat had lined her brow despite it being barely past dawn. Ready for another hunting lesson, she wondered what would be learned today.
The guild was directly ahead. She was about to head in, before she heard a man calling out. She looked over to see Liard gesturing over. She quickly made her way over and was led to the back, where two targets had been sat up about ten feet away from each other. They were at one end of the feild, the rest bare except for a bow and quiver resting on the opposite end and a man standing near the middle.
"This is Orim. He's going to be showing you how to use that bow today," Liard said, "his idea."
"And what about you?"
"I'm going out to hunt."
Pluckett was ready to protest - she wanted hunting training, not just bow skills. She knew that Liard knew how to bite back, though, and kept her mouth shut. She walked over to Orim.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Pluckett, and I'm told you are my guide today?"
The man looked her over, head tilted, and replied "yes. My name is Orim. Liard told us... plenty about you." The pause indicated to Pluckett that whatever Liard had said, it wasn't positive. She could prove herself today, though. She felt herself steel up and prepare to impress.
"You seem like you could form a decent hunter. A little small, but... full of spunk."
"I'm excited to learn, sir," she proclaimed, standing straight, just a little sweaty from the sun.
Orim simply nodded, and walked over to the bow resting on the ground. Pluckett sat her belongings down aside from the bow and arrows.
"First things first. Can you tell me what kind of bow this is?"
Pluckett stared for a moment. Shyke. "Not... a crossbow..." she mumbled. She looked at her own bow, then answered louder, "a shortbow?"
"Yes. We'll be using the same type of bow. Mind if I look at yours?"
She handed it to him.
"Bought it used?"
"Yes, it's secondhand."
"Looks a little rough, but it'll certainly do. A little imbalance," he tugged the string, "could be refreshed." He handed it back, then turned. "We're going to be shooting these targets. You take the right one. I want to see what you can do from... let's say... 12 meters, real close."
He walked about halfway down the range. "Right over here."
Pluckett followed, then proceeded to do what she assumed one was supposed to do to shoot a bow. She lined herself up, lifted her bow, docked the arrow. She pulled back on the shortbow's string, trying to hold the arrow in place as it attempted to wiggle away. She let it fly. It flew all the way to the targets... and landed in between the two.
Orim nodded. "Try again. Two more times."
Pluckett was determined to impress him. She repeated her motions, this time carefully lining it up, closing an eye to get the line proper. She let it go, and it flew over the top of the target. She glanced at Orim, who was patiently watching. Much quieter than Liard.
She tried once more.
Pick up arrow. Hold up bow. Dock arrow. Line it up. Pull back and... hit the target!
Kinda!
The arrow stuck out of the outermost rim of the straw target. Either way, it was a hit.
"Alright. I can see where the issues lie. First, go retrieve your arrows."
She made quick work of collecting the scattered arrows before jogging back. Already, the afternoon sun was crawling into the sky, and she knew she'd be covered in sweat in no time.
...
WC: 646
WC: 646