Closed Pull, Shoot, Fire! [Darius]

[Oryani]

Winter 11th 513 AV

Oryani eyed her new ‘student’ of sorts. A mutual friend between them had pulled out a favor on her, this man a thing or two about the shortbow. In all honesty, she was really just a beginner herself… but the person had mentioned that teaching often led to you learning more about it as well. So… here she was. She’d managed to find (and borrow) a target from the Watch, though with a quick explanation of her reasoning. They were quite pleased with the idea of a new member, and though her mentor had offered to help… she’d decided against it. It would simply be awkward to have the teacher of your teacher there.

She stood before the target, bow in her right hand, and arrow grasped in her left. ”What’s your name again? Da- Da something.” She glanced over as she said this, watching and waiting for an answer. When a name came, she’d reply bluntly with ”Right. Oryani Darkeye.” She’d positioned herself a little behind and to his right, so she could see his shooting arm easily, and she could see his. Unless he favored his left hand, like she did. In all honesty, her ‘teaching’ at the moment was more copying what she remembered her mentor doing… Sadly, with her hands full, she had to forgo the usual motions that went with Pavi… but that was one of the few problems of being armed. Other than accidentally stabbing yourself with an arrow or something.

Khal, her Strider, was standing a little ways off. He was used to this kind of encounter, but had sniffed the man when they’d first met curiously. Usually if the Chatakwe was practicing her bow, the other person around was someone older and more familiar. Still, he’d left to clear away from any stray arrows, taking a bite out of some nearby grass that looked particularly tasty. Her scimitar was strapped to his Yvas… she still needed to train with that some more, as she was practically useless with the weapon.

After the Drykas had answered her question, Oryani would pose another, though this one a little more complicated than the last. ”So what can you do with a bow?” she inquired, slightly sternly, shifting her own in her grip. The carved handle felt nice and familiar in her hand, though the pattern was slightly worn down after a few years of use. The bow meant a lot to her, and she hated to think of the day it broke, and she’d have to buy a new one. That would be utterly terrible… She shook her head of the thought, reminding herself of the current job,

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[Darius Twoseas]

Darius looked back at his instructor. He had gone looking for an instructor to help him use his mother's bow--he needed to know how to fight if he wanted to join the Watch. He had come to the conclusion that he did, in fact, want to join the Watch only a few days ago. After considering how he would go about learning the skills he would need, he realized working for the Watch would present the best opportunities to learn things like wilderness survival and riding, skills he would need to learn if be hoped to survive traveling the rest of Mizahar. But to get into the Watch, he needed to be at least comfortable with his bow and an assortment of other things that he was currently studying. It took a huge chunk of time away from practicing his magic, but if it keep him alive on his way to more scholarly cities, it would all be worth it. His instructor was standing by him, her bow and arrow out as if she were about to nock the arrow. She asked his name. "I'm Darius." His Pavi wasn't great, and he couldn't make the handsigns while he held his own bow, a simple thing with the only decorations elaborately carved knot work on the grip. The other Drykas introduced herself as Oryani. While her braided hair and the Strider behind her confirmed she was Drykas, her eyes and complexion suggested she was not born so. Darius wasn't really familiar with the people of the southern deserts, but he assumed she was an example. When she asked what he could do with a bow, he hesitated a moment. Then he took an arrow and nocked it a little unsteadily. Darius looked down the shaft and aimed at the target. His arm was unsteady, as he wasn't really used to the draw strength of his bow, and the arrow itself was unsteady on the string. After a long moment with one eye closed, staring down range, he released the string. The arrow flew through the air and landed with a this into the very outside of the target, sticking out at a slightly weird angle. It was by no means a particularly good shot, but at least it hit the target. Darius turned to look at Oryani. "Well, I can fire an arrow..."

[Oryani]

Oryani scowled a little when she was only given the man's first name. She would have liked to know his pavilion, and even his clan if possible... though she hadn't given her own. She grumbled about it for a moment, before deciding that it wasn't worth it. They'd only converse by first names anyways, so knowing his pavilion wasn't incredibly important.

She watched his shot, carefully, noticing right away that his arm was shaky. Glancing at his feet... his stanceI hope you don't mind me adding this, though it wasn't mentioned. I reasoned that with his lack of skill, he wouldn't really have mastered a good stance. was off too. It wasn't hasty, however, though nowhere near as long as she knew some to wait. Though she couldn't judge, really. At least his arm was strong enough to hold it that long.

The Chatakwe was pleased that the arrow at least hit the target, as it meant he had some form of accuracy, though they weren't too far from the mark anyways. She liked his response to her question, however... showing, rather than explaining. Darius' language made him seem a little shy, and she wondered vaguely what would happen when she actually started teaching. What she knew from brief explanations to her brother... her teaching 'style' was very, very stern.

"Good enough. We'll start with before the shot. Keep your legs strong on the ground... one leg back, foot at a ninety degree angle, and heels aligned. Make sure your weight is evenly distributed, and you feel steady. You want to be able to have your body perpendicular to the target." She demonstrated after the explanation, letting her bow dangle in her right hand. Her left leg went back and right forward a little past shoulder-width. From the angled position she was able to look at her student straight on. Grabbing the string with her left fingers, she raised the bow and drew back, straining her arm muscles.

Her fingers were close to her ear, and arms were taught as she faced the target... though her body was still at the same angle. Her arm felt like wobbling from the effort, but she took the care to slowly let go of the string, rather than let it twang. You never, ever, dry fired... though she was curious to see if this novice did at all.

When the demonstration was given, she grabbed the arrow from where she'd stuck it into the ground. She knocked it easily, drawing it back like she had earlier... though kept the arrow head balanced on her fingers. She pointed her attention at the target and took a few deep breaths, focusing on her mark... and let go. The arrow flied straighter than Darius', though it still wobbled a bit. It landed about halfway between the center and the edge, higher than it should have been. One thing she needed to work on was height...

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[Darius Twoseas]

Oryani looked a bit annoyed when Darius introduced himself, though he wasn't really sure why. She had asked for his name and he had given it. He hoped it wasn't something he had said, because if two words from him were enough to annoy her, there was no way this lesson would accomplish much. She watched him shoot carefully, and even glanced at his feet. Darius was a little embarrassed as he hadn't even considered his stance. It was hard to tell what she though of the shot, but she got straight to the corrections. Firstly, she pointed out the mistake of his stance that he had caught only a little bit earlier. She demonstrated to him, turning to face Darius, which confused him. It wasn't until she drew her bow as a demonstration that he realized she favored her left hand. That was a little unusual. Her draw was far smoother than Darius's own. He did note how she then eased the string back into place instead of simply releasing it, but he put no particular significance to it. When she was done, she knocked her arrow and fired to show him the difference. The arrow was easily within the target, just a little bit high. He didn't take an arrow this time, instead he drew the bow empty. His feet were better set, his weight balanced and his front foot at a ninety degree angle to his back one. He drew back, trying to keep steadier than before, with limited success. He looked down an imaginary arrow for a moment, then slowly let the string return to its position, more because he had seen Oryani do it than anything else. "How is that?"

[Oryani]

Again Oryani watched her student's movements. The stance was much better than before, but it looked a little awkward. Again she considered her own, and realized she'd been a little too specific about that. She didn't entirely have her feet aligned, and her front foot usually tilted a little... but she felt more stable and comfortable that way. "You can shift your feet a bit so they feel more comfortable, if you need. You just need to be steady on your feet."

She then considered his drawing... the elbow was up and straight, though Darius' arms wobbled a bit. She couldn't blame him though, since holding the full draw weight of a string was often hard. At least the draw weight seemed good on him... he could pull the string back without doing anything funny... whoever had given or sold him the bow had paid attention to that. He also didn't dry fire, which was another good sign. Overall... her pupil had a good base.

"Good. Position yourself directly in front of the target... we can work on angles later. Knock an arrow, and once you draw, stay steady and calm. You may want to take a few breaths. Since we're close enough, you don't have to tilt your bow up too much to gauge for distance. Try and point the tip of the arrow straight at the target... then move it up just a tiny bit. Fire, and keep your arms in the same position, especially your left." She didn't know how much he knew about what to do, so instead the Chatakwe went over everything about aiming. Generally there were two problems with accuracy... your aiming being off, or your arms moving after the shock, shifting the direction of the arrow just as it starts flying. She wasn't entirely sure if she would be able to spot the difference, but tried anyways.

She put herself at a sharper angle to the target than Darius, and picked up one of her own arrows. As another demonstration, she picked one of them up, determined to hit the center at least this time. She knocked the arrow and drew back, lifting the bow to be parallel to the ground at the same time. She aimed at the target, following her own instructions in pointing, waiting... when her left arm started to wobble from the effort she tilted the bow just half a centimeter up... and fired. Again it landed too high, and she mentally cursed herself. Accuracy was not her strong point. The target now held three arrows... when it reached ten, she decided, they'd go and pick them up.

"Shoot three" she instructed with a wave of her free hand, passing Darius three arrows from her own small stack... he didn't seem to have any of his own, something that probably needed fixing.

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[Darius Twoseas]

Darius looked down at his feet when she mentioned his stance. He had been a little stuff and uncomfortable with his feet in perfect right angles. He shuffled around to be more comfortable. It was much easier to stand steadily with his feet slightly adjusted to balance his weight better. Then she began talking about his draw and his aim. She gave him the instructions, then walked a little bit away. He watched her draw her arrow and raise her bow in one fluid motion. She spent a moment aiming, long enough for her arm to start trembling just enough for Darius to notice. Then she raised the bow a little bit and fired. The shot hit the target a little bit high of the center. She instructed him to fire three shots and passed Darius three arrows--Darius made a mental note to buy some arrows himself, he didn't like mooching off of people. He stabbed two of the arrows into the ground and nocked the other one. He looked at his feet, readjusting them a little bit to make himself more comfortable. Then he took a breath, looked up, and drew the bow back. He looked straight down the shaft, taking a few deep breaths. Then, following her instruction, he moved it up an almost imperceptible amount. He released, trying his best to keep his left arm steady. It was more difficult than he had expected, but he had moderate success. The arrow flew through the air and solidly bit about two inches from the right edge of the target. He picked out his next arrow and nocked it too. He went through the same motions as before: look down, adjust feet, breathe, and draw. His fingers next to his face, he looked down the shaft again. A few more breaths later he let it fly, keeping his left arm solidly in place this time. It thudded into the target near the bottom, a bit closer than his previous two shots. He took his final arrow. He took a little more time with this one, drawing back very carefully. The weight of the string was just making his arm tremble when he let go. He hit in about the same place as before, but to the fight instead of below the center. "So?" he asked, he less-than-fluent Pavi a little hesitant, "Better?"

[Oryani]

Darius' archery this time was much better. Firing a few arrows in a row, Oryani had found, was very effective in figuring things out. You saw what you did wrong the first time, adjusted it, then tried again. The more arrows in a row... the better you did. It helped to remember how your body felt during the first shot, and figure out your problems with that.

"Very good" she complimented, with a hint of a smile. She wasn't one for compliments that often, so it was obvious that she was pleased. However, since this was also being considered practice for herself as well as Darius... she took three of her own arrows and tried to repeat the process... that would be nine, she'd have Darius shoot one more... then they'd pick up the other arrows. With a plan in mind, she steadied her position until she felt comfortable, and stared down at the target.

She nocked an arrow and grabbed the base with two of her fingers, slowing her breathing for her moment. On an inhale, she took in a breath, and at the same time raised and drew the bow. Now that she was in this position, she held her breath, waiting until she felt steady... pointed the arrow just a little above the target's center... and released. She'd forgotten about keeping her right arm stiff, however, and the arrow swung off a little sideways, and ended up hanging just on the edge - though middle - of the target. After a few moments of dangling it dropped into the grass.

Grumbling to herself, the Chatakwe repeated the earlier motions, this time reminding herself that her right arm was important. She held her breath and pointed back at the same spot, since it seemed to have worked earlier. After the fire and release, the shot went remarkably perfect, and hit nearly the dead center of the target. Oryani would have jumped and cheered at her success in any normal situation... but she didn't want to do that in front of her student. She was supposed to be perfect for him, and show him the correct ways of archery. Still, she was only a student herself... so she let her mouth curl into a wide grin.

For the last arrow she felt quite confident, and rushed the entrance to the shot. She only held her breath a moment before releasing, too quickly for her to remember what she was supposed to do. This time, her left hand faltered, and the bow and bowstring shifted as it snapped, sending the arrow flying awry, and the taught cord slashing into her forearm. She sucked in a sharp breath and cursed, earlier smile turned into a scowl. "Stupid... bowstring..." she grumbled to herself, before stubbornly passing an arrow to Darius. "Try and hit the middle" she told him grumpily, to irritated to give any constructive criticism.

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[Fantasy]

XP Award!

Name: Oryani

XP Award:

• Observation +4
• Teaching +2
  
• Weapon: Shortbow +3

Lore:

• Teaching: Proper bow stance
  
• Teaching: Shortbow Aim

Notes: A lovely teaching thread, it’s a shame it ended so soon. As always if you have questions don’t be afraid to PM me about them, and as always please edit your grading request.


Name: Darius Twoseas

Notes: If you should return Darius, PM me and I will post your grade.

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