Season of Fall, Day 65, 513 AV
As expected, Rinya had immediately went to assure him that it was for the best that it happened the way it happened. And while on an intellectual level he could appreciate that Rinya was probably better off armed than unarmed against an unknown intruder, it still upset him a bit that she had to defend herself at all. What was Rhys doing during all of this? Sleeping? Still, he knew better than to doubt Rinya in this. On a purely physical level his mate was actually superior to him in self-defense capability.
Well, he guessed that Rinya was probably superior to him in that capacity if only because her work required her to be constantly on her guard and vigilant at all times. And while the amphitheater had its share of games they rarely if ever became dangerous in any real way, not to mention it was safely nestled not too far from the city of Riverfall and the road there patrolled constantly by formidable Akalak warriors. If it weren't for the fact that Jorin made sure to practice whenever he could at the Kendoka it was likely he wouldn't have any self-defense capabilities at all.
"I... I suppose..." he finally conceded, but not happily. "You can't blame a bondmate for being worried, though." What if she hadn't done well with that dagger? Still, it was a moot point now. And truthfully, Jorin knew this was something he should not push too far. Rinya was happy and comfortable doing this job and that was not something he wanted to change.
It was just that, unfortunately, her job put her in so much danger. And worst of all, Jorin had no way of protecting her. He had to rely on Rhys, and while he was sure the Akalak was more than capable of doing so, would he have the same drive to do so? He, after all, wasn't bonded to Rinya, wasn't in love with her, didn't live with her every day. Jorin might not be as large or as strong as Rhys but he sure as hai was certain he was more determined to protect his mate than anyone else in the world. He'd stake his life on it.
In the end he'd just have to trust Rinya. And, begrudgingly, Rhys too. It wasn't an easy thing - and he still worried all the time - but he had little other choice in the matter. Mizahar was a dangerous place, but Rinya at least had the capacity to protect herself. And until he improved his skill with the quarterstaff and now the longbow, he was no use to her in a defensive capacity.
At the very least, Rinya's murmured promise to never close off their bond again comforted him. He knew she'd agree to that; she'd already promised once before. But that week had just been so hard on both of them; he just didn't want to have to relive it again. It had been the first time he'd ever asked twice for the same thing. It wasn't that he did not trust Rinya, but he wanted to emphasize how important that request was. When she made her promise he nodded solemnly, replying with a promise of his own. "I promise as well, Rinya. I swear I will never block our bond either. After all, we can get through any problems we have, so long as we do it together."
Rinya's quip about him hitting water was something he'd come to expect from her now that their relationship had become much more open. He just shrugged. "Well, if I couldn't even hit that I'd be a little worried," he laughed. "But you're right, the day hasn't been wasted."
Rinya had picked up his bow, analyzing it in her far more experienced hands. Jorin decided to watch her as he pulled on his clothing, and he couldn't help but admire her lithe form. Toned would be the best descriptor, her muscles, like his, were powerful but under the surface, not budging and muscular like some of the Akalaks he'd seen. Jorin had felt Rinya's eyes on him when he'd drawn the bow, and despite their recent activities he nonetheless couldn't help but stare some more.
Jorin blinked; Rinya had moved to his quiver and taken a fishing arrow and he'd barely noticed. He probably needed to pay more attention; she was clearly showing him the proper form for the longbow and he was getting distracted watching the movement of her muscles, and how her hair cascaded down her back... Jorin gave yet another mental shake. He had to concentrate; Rinya was patient with him but even she would lose it if he kept losing focus and she had to repeat herself every tick.
Her glance backward was a bit expectant, and he took it to mean he was to watch and learn, so Jorin put on the last of his clothing, tucking the hunting knife into its place at his side before standing a bit off to the side so he could see everything Rinya was doing. She was now staring intently into the water, clearly utilizing her enhanced vision to spot the fish below the water. Regardless of the fact that she'd never done this before her stance was perfect.
Of course it was; Jorin could easily tell it was the result of endless practice. Strangely, she hadn't seemed to be practicing all that often in recent times; he wondered if perhaps that was because she'd been spending so much time with him. Jorin would have felt guilty about that - and in a way he did - but the truth was he felt happy. Happy that he was so important to his mate she'd rather spend time with him than with her bow, since he knew how much she loved archery. At least now, she could do both.
Rinya's lifting of the bow was sone smooth motion, the string drawing taut with the nocked arrow as she drew it back to the corner of her mouth, the same anchor point that Jorin now used. It had been on a whim, choosing the same one as Rinya, but it was yet another thing he shared with her and as silly as it sounded that mattered to him. When she released the arrow Jorin's eyes followed the shaft as it splashed into the water, slicing through the fish near the tail.
Jorin suspected, from Rinya's pursed lips and the sense of vague disappointment, that it was not what she had aimed for. Nonetheless it was quite impressive that she was able to hit it at all, given the fact that the target was moving, under the water, and rather small. Jorin was amazed he even got as close as he did; he suspected it might have been because he spent so long aiming.
"Yeah, I'm starting to see some inherent flaws in this 'shoot the fish with arrows' theory the merchant managed to make me swallow," Jorin agreed, as RInya mentioned that even if he had hit a fish, he'd have to swim out to get it. "I'm starting to suspect I might've been had," he joked, as he took the bow from Rinya's hand.
Rinya's nude form was still a distraction - Jorin suspected it always would be - but at least now the flames had gone from inferno heat to cheerful fire. Still there, but much more manageable... for now. He figured that for Rinya to retrieve the arrows that had missed, as well the fish she'd managed to hit, she would need to shift into osprey form. For the purposes of concentration for both of them, he suspected she probably should.
Regardless, Jorin tore his eyes away from Rinya and plucked yet another fishing arrow from the quiver. He sure was burning through these specialized arrows at an alarming pace. He supposed it was inevitable; after all, any novice archer would ruin quite a few arrows getting it right, and at least these arrows would mostly be hitting water and shouldn't be too badly damaged by the experience.
"Well, I'll try to give it another go," Jorin announced, with more confidence than he felt. He'd missed thrice already, once on what may not have even been a fish to begin with, so he wasn't exactly shooting with the best track record. Nonetheless, confidence was key. If he could not even be confident in his own abilities, who would be confident in him?
Jorin tried taking the stance he'd mimicked before, remembering the soft gentle touches of Rinya's hands correcting it in the places where he'd gotten it wrong. And while it would likely have been helpful to remember what Rinya's own stance looked like, he knew if he tried that, he had to quietly admit to himself that he was admiring his mate more than paying attention to her stance, much to his chagrin. About the only thing he could remember was that she had the bow held quite straight, and he tried to mimic this when he realized he might be canting it slightly.
Adjusting the angle of the bow against the trees in the backdrop, Jorin tried to ensure that it was perfectly vertical. Though Rinya had not specifically stated that needed to be the case, he suspected it did since every time she'd ever fired the weapon, it had always been from a straight vertical position. He took a breath, closing his left eye and sighting down the shaft of the arrow at the same school of fish that Rinya had targeted earlier.
The death of their compatriot seemed to have frightened off most of them, so Jorin panned to the left, searching for a better target. The burning in his lungs was too much to bear and Jorin let out his breath in a huff as he was not able to locate any fish after a good chime. He kept patiently searching, realizing that Rinya likely had already spotted viable candidates by now but was keeping quiet to see if he could spot them on his own.
Finally, after another four or five long chimes, Jorin found what he had been looking for: the flash of gold and green under the surface of the water. Taking yet another breath, Jorin nocked the arrow while keeping the bow steady and vertical, sighting down the shaft while closing one eye. Jorin had intended to take his time aiming, as the muscles from his shoulders all the way down to his core strained, but this fish was too quick on its fins and had begun to swim off.
Robbed of his usual aiming time, Jorin released his breath in another huff, the arrow flying from the string toward the target and this time, sadly, missing rather completely. His incomplete aiming and the fact that the fish was threatening to flee meant that he simply didn't have time to line up a better shot, but still, he was disappointed in the miss nonetheless.
"I didn't really have time to aim that one," Jorin sighed, as he looked over at Rinya with an apologetic smile. "I'm bad enough as it is, and that petching thing was gonna run, I could feel it." Well, alright. Feeling it was taking it a tad too far; he was hardly an experienced fisherman. Nonetheless, the fish had been flitting to and fro rapidly, and Jorin could not be certain it would remain in one location for long.
"I'm beginning to wonder if I should just try the fishing pole at this point," Jorin grumbled. Then shrugged. "At this rate, I'd have better luck trying to catch those fish with my bare hands."
