A Rideby Shooting (Solo)

[Dimitri]

Spring 63, 511 AV

Dimitri walked into the Windmount Stables once more, bow on his back and quiver on his right hip. He was going to try something new in his trainings. He was going to try to shoot from a moving horse. A walking horse to be precise. He was looking through the stalls for a horse when a young page came over and told him he'd just finished grooming a horse that was ready for use. Dimitri was surprised at one so young and short was able to do this. The boy asked if he wanted a saddle, and Dimitri shook his head. He thanked the boy and looked at the horse.

It was a large paintedmount, quite thick and tall. He approached the horse gently, calmly, and touched it on it's snout. He talked softly to it, his hand sliding Dow it's neck as he moved to one side of it. He felt it's powerful muscles of it's shoulders and back. He planted two palms on it's back and leapt atop the beast. It was wider than he was used to and slightly taller, but felt sturdy and stable. He could feel it's powerful muscles twitch beneath him. He leaned forward encouraging it with soft, gentle words as he patted it. He lead it into the yard and over to the bow training area, using his knees to steer. This training yard always filled him with frustration. But he would bring himself one step closer to conquering it.

[Dimitri]

He examined the various targets. They came in many different degrees of difficulty. He rode over to the easier one first. It was just a target dummy, with three circles grooved into the dirt at varying distances from it. The innermost circle was about ten feet from the target, the second about twenty away, and the third about thirty feet away. All the targeting areas had similar degrees of difficulty, ranging from beginner, advanced, and master. Dimitri would be using the innermost circle today. He led the horse to the circle. He would walk the horse along the circle counterclockwise around the target and would attempt to shoot and kill it.

Dimitri lined up the horse and drew his bow. He held the wood in his left hand, and with his heels he tapped the horse into a walk. He had to concentrate on steering the horse with his knees, without looking at the line. He needed to focus on aiming at the target after all. As he lead the horse around the circle, getting his knees to remember the position so as to hold it. He held his bow out to his left, pointing it at the target. He needed to take this one step at a time. By doing this, he felt the way he needed to hold himself while on horse. His lower torso continued to face forward with the horse, while his upper torso twisted toward the target.

[Dimitri]

As he held his torso as such, he found his grip with his knees shifting slightly, forcing the horse to veer inward from the circle. He adjusted with his knees to get back on course. He held himself straighter this time, working to force his knees to work against the flow of muscles that occurred naturally. He continued holding the bow towards the target, holding the position of his knees, as the horse walked it's first full circle. He then used his other hand to reach into his quiver. He could see the horse shifting slightly out of the corner of his eye. He realized he had shifted his weight as he reached back. He put his hand back down, and tried again, all the while the horse maintaining it's path. He held himself tightly as his hand closed around the arrow and slowly slipped it out. He lifted it up and slipped it into the string of the bow, happy te horse was still on track. As he aligned the shot, he noticed that by going in a circle, that he wouldn't have to keep adjusting his shot.

He pulled back on the arrow, keeping his grip with his knees, and tightening his abdominals and back muscles to provide a solid base. By doing this he wouldn't throw off his hold on the horse. He pulled it back by his ear, took in a shallow breath, and locked onto the chest of his target. He let the breath release with the arrow. It flew toward the target, sinking into it's shoulder. Dimitri smiled, not a kill shot but a stopping blow. He turned forward and saw the he had veered outside of the circle. He sighed. Almost had it down.

[Dimitri]

Dimitri continued to lead the horse around the circle with his knees. He wondered how he could steer his horse without watching in front of him. He nocked another arrow, and aimed it at the target without drawing. He then began using his knees to changer directions, he started by going right. He watched his arrow tip move as the horse did. He steered the horse back, watching the arrow move as well. He smiled as he finally figured out the trick.

Without looking forward, he locked onto the dummy. His knees automatically adjusted and brought the path back onto the circle. He drew back, breathed in, and let the arrow fly. It struck the dummy in the gut. He pumped his bow to the sky in triumph, and was pleased to see he had kept the horse on path. He then placed his bow on his back, to apply everything at once. He leaned forward on his horse, leading it out of the circle. He then turned it back and started toward the circle. He visualized his opponent as he entered the circle. He quickly grabbed his bow, and held it up while he reached for an arrow. He remembered to maintain his gripped knees and he tightened his abs and back. He pulled the arrow and nocked it quickly, pulled back and aimed, his knees adjusting the horse automatically. He breathed in, held for an instant, and loosed the breath as the string twanged, his arrow slicing toward the dummy. It struck the dummy in the side of his ribs. Dimitri wanted a kill shot so he quickly drew another arrow. He continued his horse around the dummy and nocked it again. As he drew it back, there was a loud SNAP! Dimitri's string snapped, and sliced his palm, causing him to drop the arrow. He hissed through gritted teeth in pain. He stopped the horse and slid off of it, as he examined the wound. It didn't appear deep enough to cause damage to the muscles, however the bleeding wouldn't be able to stop on it's own. He clenched his hand into a fist and quickly gathered his arrows and took the horse back to the stables. He sighed loudly as he left, knowing he'd have to pay to have his whitewood bow restrung and his hand healed. He was at least happy to have gotten a bit of training in first, as he walked toward the entrance of the fields, blood dripping onto the dusty earth.

[Leviathan]

Thread Award! Dimitri   Skills Skill Gain Info. Weapon (Shortbow) 3 -- Riding 2 --   Lore Self-Inflicted Battle Damage! (Very Minor)

Additional CommentsHello there Dimitri. I would have given you more points for riding, but I don't see it logical that someone would be 'competent' in riding, but get a good deal of points for sitting on a walking horse. Maybe it's just how I see it, but something like racing against another squire/knight in full plate armor, reenacting a high speed chase, that sort of thing, would earn more points. Nice thread, as per usual. Keep up the good work.