Completed Archery Training II

[Roderick]

51st of Summer, 513 AV Roderick pushed himself up from the dirt with a grunt, feeling the burn in his arms. He had been doing these for a while now, and after he had done three more he decided to stop and take a break. When his breath had returned he laid down with his knees bent up towards him and began to sit up without using his arms or legs to help. It wasn't long before the tingling in his muscles began; up, down, up, down. Again and again he repeated the movement, feeling the pains that came with doing such a thing on bare earth, as well as those in his gut from crunching the muscles together. Half a dozen passed and his stomach was itching. Another half a dozen and it started to burn. Four more and his stomach was on fire. Done with that, Roderick rose from the ground and stretched himself out to relieve the tension, then started jogging; the collection of exercises was meant to help build up a little strength and endurance. As he jogged he remembered to keep his breathing steady. When two chimes had passed he slowed down to a walk and moved around the clearing that way until his breathing settled; deep, strong breaths to bring the wind back into his lungs. He walked for another three chimes and then started his jog again for two more chimes. That was how he worked; running in short bursts to get used to moving about quickly; trying too much too fast would cause more harm than good. Deciding to pick up a little speed he started running properly, doing a full circle of the clearing once so he was winded, then slowing to a jog for going around a second time, and then walking when it came time for the third time. By that time Roderick had built up a fair sweat from all the movement, so he broke away from his path to fetch his waterskin; drinking it down felt good and cured him of his thirst. That done the hunter collected his bow and stood opposite the target. Roderick took up his stance quickly, and did his breathing exercises. Out during the notching, then in for the draw. With the string brushing his nose and the corner of his lip, he quickly lined up the target in his sights and loosed. The arrow whizzed through the air and finished its path with a jolt as it connected with the target; it had landed in the third ring. The hunter notched another arrow and drew the string back for another try; this time it landed within the second ring, though only just. Out, in, draw, aim. He let his fingers go limp and watched the arrow stick itself into the targets alongside the others. It had edged its way closer to the center, but there was still a ways to go before he could reach it. It wasn't that he was a particularly terrible shot; aiming at a target from half way across a clearing was no easy thing to do. With another arrow notched he grunted as he brought the string back for another try. He hardly held onto the arrow this time, allowing his eye to judge the distance; he released his grip on the shaft and watched as it vanished briefly before appearing again in the target - inside the second ring. Roderick smiled happily to himself; that book he'd read the other day had been right about not slowing down to aim. Just like it had said, his eye had sent the arrow where he wanted - well almost. There was more work to do yet. There was another thing he'd read though that had interested him. Roderick notched another arrow to the string, and then balanced another precariously between his fingers, making sure it was pointed away from him. He released his held breath, then drew it in again for the draw. Again he released almost immediately upon drawing, and then flipped the arrow between his fingers into his hand and began notching it. The action was hardly mastered, but he'd spent several days and nights practicing at it in his free time, so all things considered it all worked out well enough. When it was notched he quickly brought the bow up to full draw and loosed. The first arrow struck a few inches away from the other arrow in the second ring. The arrow he'd held between his fingers for the quick draw went a few inches between and a little higher than them, a short ways off from the first ring. The hunter smiled again and walked the distance to the target to retrieve his arrows. Leaning his weapon against the target he braced one hand around an arrow and used the other to pull it free and return it to his quiver. He did that for every arrow he'd loosed at the target, until his quiver was full and the target was riddled with holes. Feeling pleased and accomplished with himself, Roderick leaned his longbow against his chest and started scanning the undergrowth for any sign of the Myrian girl Kaie. The training of the day before had gone fairly well, he thought, and hopefully this day would be as fruitful.

[Kaie]

The lithe Myrian woman glanced around the open forest. All around here came the twittering of birds in the trees, the gentle rustle of leaves, and the distant sound of a stream gurgling it way through the woods. Other than that there was not much else. She appeared to be alone. And that was just how she liked it when she was out there.

Kaie crouched low to the ground, fingers dipping into the dry footprint. She brushed at it as if authenticating its existence. The Myrian was early to her lessons in Archery with Roderick. Rather than making yet another circuit about the area, wasting time, she figured she might as well entertain herself. What better way was there to pass the time than tracking? And hunting down her teacher nonetheless.

The Myrian woman grinned down at the markings. They were clearly human. It wasn't like there was any animal that wore shoes casually around the wood. Especially not one that Kaie recognized from her first encounter with Roderick. There was no denying these fresh tracks belonged to the archer's boots. He was making tracking for her incredibly easy, even if he didn't know she was playing such a game at all. Now that she thought about it, what she was doing wasn't so different from her times in Falyndar. The days where her trainer, Yitmah, would only train her if she could find him.

And so began her steady tread through the forest. Strapped across her back was her backpack, bow, and quiver. Her gladius hung from her side as it always did. Sheathed twin Kukri daggers tied to her lower back. Though she traveled fairly light, every weapon was almost a sacred tool to her. There was a use for each. They were necessities. Hiding all of that was her brown cloak which billowed behind her softly as she moved.

Her stalk was predatory. Savage. Her crouch was that of a preying tiger. A jungle hunter who thrived in the wilderness. Feet moved as quietly as she could along the dirt, though she couldn't help the occasional twig snap. Her pace was quick after the direction of the tracks. She knew before long she'd find Roderick without much trouble.

In preparation Kaie withdrew her bow and an arrow from her quiver. Still racing along after the man, she placed her arrow on the bowstring. It wasn't until she was safely hidden in the brush that she pulled back on the string. A predator hunting the hunter from the edge of the clearing. Just like the previous meeting, he was leaned upon a tree beside his bow. Unsuspecting despite how he eyed his surroundings. And so coming from an angle, the Myrian eased up from her crouch to take aim. Holding the arrow with her finger tips, Kaie pulled back until her knuckles were just gracing the corner of her lip. Inhale. Exhale. Aim. And then she fired.

The arrow sailed through the air for her target. She followed through after the release and remembered not to drop her bow until she heard it. That satisfying...

Thunk!

The arrow jammed into the same tree Roderick was leaned upon. Several meters above his head, the arrow tip was wedged deep within the thick trunk. The Myrian couldn't help but smile with victory, stepping out from her hiding place and moving toward the barbarian man. Was he surprised? Afraid at first? Proud of his student even?

"Glad you arrived on time. I half expected you to get lost."

[Roderick]

The arrow that was suddenly wobbling above his head set Roderick straight into aiming towards the person that had loosed it. For whatever reason he'd felt the need to twirl an arrow between his fingers, so when the arrow struck he somehow managed to notch his own to the string and draw his bow, ready to stick whoever was attacking him. He relaxed as he saw Kaie stepping out into the open. Then he nearly released his grip because it was the Myrian that had loosed at him. He left his bow leaning against the tree so he couldn't use it on her. "Is loosing an arrow at someone the Myrian way of saying, 'I love you'? What are you lot smoking in that jungle of yours?" the snide remarks stopped him from clubbing Kaie over the head with his spearbow -Wade had called it that during their hunt, he remembered. He jabbed his finger towards the target, "Aim for that next time," he started walking towards the target, calling over his shoulder, "You're getting that arrow out, by the way - good luck not breaking it." the anger had long gone out of him - now he was acting as if nothing had happened. If the Myrian had hoped to get a reaction out of him, she'd be disappointed.

[Kaie]

Kaie practically laughed out loud at his accusation. Broad grin was across her face as she strolled at a leisurely pace toward him. Her body language shouted how careless she was. Another completely reckless teenager just along for the ride. Naturally, Roderick's tight ass response entertained her well enough.

"Well usually it's Taloba grey but there's plenty of odd plants out in the Jungle honestly," She shot back easily without hesitation. She finally reached him and leaned onto the tree trunk beside him. Her finger traced the cracked skin of the bark slyly in an absent fashion as he chastised her.

"I think I'll be just fine buying a new one. Not like one arrow is going to make or break my training. Will it Roderick?" Kaie reasoned easily with a stretch of her shoulders with arms over her head. She waved a hand at the stray arrow like it didn't matter. In theory she was probably right.

"So what's the plan for today?"

[Roderick]

"Well usually it's Taloba grey but there's plenty of odd plants out in the Jungle honestly," the Myrian's quick reply made Roderick smirk. Kaie managed to catch up to him with his long stride and leaned onto the tree trunk beside him. She traced her fingers along the roughness of the bark, ignoring every word he said - or so it seemed. "I think I'll be just fine buying a new one. Not like one arrow is going to make or break my training. Will it Roderick?" Kaie stretched her arms above her head to wave her hands at the arrow dismissively. She didn't seem at all troubled about what she had done. "So what's the plan for today?" Plan? There is no plan. "You've done well at the stance, but you'll want to keep going over it to get it perfect. We'll be looking to test your aim - that's what the target is for," he nodded towards it, "Now if you're done trying to kill me, will we start?"[/color]

[Kaie]

Repetition, repetition. She should've known from the start that's what would be occupying her time. After all practice does make perfect, right? With all the time she was about to put in doing the same thing, well, she certainly hoped the old saying was true. At least she'd be fixing that atrocious aim of hers in the meantime.

"If I was trying to kill you, trust me, you'd know," She reasoned jokingly with a comical roll of her bold brown eyes. Then she moved over more toward the target. Stopping once when she was even with it, she raised her brow as if to ask if she could begin. Of course she'd let the teacher teach first. No reason to shoot her eye out trying to get the damn thing to fly straight.

[Roderick]

"If I was trying to kill you, trust me, you'd know," the Myrian said with a roll of her eyes. She stepped closer to the target, then turned and raised a brow at him, waiting for him to say something. He obliged. "On you go," he said, watching her as she worked. He stood nearby, reaching out to correct whatever mistakes he could see them, though for the most part just letting her work through the steps. While she notched he turned and looked around the clearing for a bit, taking note of all the rustling leaves and bushes, doing his best to listen for anything that might be moving around out there; good practice - as if there was any other kind. Roderick stepped away from Kaie to observe her silently, letting his eye go over every little ripple of muscle as she drew the string back to her cheek and prepared to loose. He watched her to see if she was doing something wrong - though being half-naked certainly had a hand in the attention.

[Kaie]

Kaie rolled her eyes but nonetheless positioned herself before the target. She stared at it for a moment. Then when she was ready, she inhaled, bringing the bow up and pulled the arrow back. When the arrow teased at the corner of her lip, she aimed. Then she fired, letting the arrow fire from the bowstring. It hurtled toward its target with shocking speed. Eventually it did manage to wedge itself into the target. Just barely.

The tip was wedged onto the bottom corner of the target, much to Kaie's confusion. She had hit the target but it wasn't even moving and she hardly did damage. It was a good distance from the bullseye and easily one of the worst shots she'd fired. Kaie just didn't get it. She hadn't dropped her bow too soon nor had she neglected to follow through. Maybe she was being too hard on herself. After all she was just beginning.

"Petching thing dropped too low."

[Roderick]

The Myrian readied herself for a try at the target. Bringing the bow up to her cheek, she aimed towards the bullseye, then loosed the arrow. It took off through the air and then came to a stop inside the lower edge of the target's third ring. Kaie stared at the arrow silently, looking puzzled. "Petching thing dropped too low." she said to herself. "It will take time." he assured her, then smiled, "You're doing well for yourself. The first time I used a bow I couldn't even hit the target - some of the things I shouted were quite creative, apparently," he laughed quietly to himself at the memory, "Keep trying; it will be a few days before you can hit the target every time." He rested his bow on the ground and stepped towards her, lifting her arm up, "Bend your elbow a bit and leave the ends of your fingers relaxed - keep everything relaxed - your shoulders, back and arms are what should be doing the work. "Don't worry about the point of the arrow moving - keep your mind on where you want it to go, and let it float over that spot; when you've got your spot, loose quickly - the longer you wait the worse you'll be. Now try again." Roderick stepped away from the Myrian and took his bow up again, leaning his weight to the right and resting his elbow against the end of the weapon. He was pleased to see Kaie's progress was going well; hopefully she would continue using it long after they had parted ways.

[Kaie]

Time. She hated the word. Time meant slow and gradual progress. Kaie was always in the now, wanting results instantaneously even if it wasn't reasonable to think so. How could she have fallen so behind in the skill that she couldn't even hit a stagnant target?

She couldn't help but smile a tiny bit at his own anecdote. No doubt she could see him spinning around after a missed shot and yelling obscenities at the forest. She had been restricting her own swearing and what not to a minimum as it was. At least if she did slip up she wouldn't feel so bad about it.

"I might need to shoot straight within those few days you know," She reasoned with a groan, staring hatefully at the target she only barely managed to hit. Why couldn't beginner's luck strike twice?

She let him adjust her, fixing her elbow and relaxing her fingers as he instructed. She breathed. Pulled herself away from archery all together in her mind. Kaie thought about all he had told her. All the little tips and started to think more about the details. She placed another arrow on the bowstring, lifted her arm, bent her elbow some, and relaxed her fingers and she pulled back. She could feel her shoulders, back, and arms working under the tension. As soon as the anchor hit the corner of her lip, she stared down the arrow shaft at the target. Exhale. She released the damn thing and held herself in her stance to see it through.

The arrow soared again only this time she over shot it, just barely skimming the top of the target. She dropped her arms in a growl. Myrian sounds being made under her breath in exasperation. She hadn't a clue how long it would take her to get good at the bow, but she hoped it would certainly pick up from this.