Closed [Archery Ranges] Shooting Away Frustration (Ainyi)

[Azira]

8th Winter 513AV 18th Bell

It had just been one of those days. The huntress had managed to go riding with an Endal who wanted her to shoot from eagleback. It had been a huge challenge. It was worse than just shooting at moving targets. She was moving and the target was moving plus she wasn't really able to shoot over particularly long distances, meaning that the eagle had to fly low if she was to have a chance of hitting anything at all. Azira hadn't done well anyway and it had left her feeling useless. Her bow skills weren't the best, she knew but she'd never thought that she was that bad so she'd decided that she would do something about it so she could never embarrass herself like that again. So the young woman had come to the ranges.

The archery ranges were one of the few recreational places in Wind Reach still open, at least Azira found Second Quiver recreational. She went there to enjoy herself but also to keep her shooting skills sharp. Two birds, one arrow. She couldn't say that she enjoyed it if she was in this kind of mood. The only emotions that could arise when she desperately wanted to improve her skills were determination and frustration. Frustration certainly played a major part in things as she stood glaring at a target peppered with arrows. Not one of them had hit the bull's eye and she was almost ready to fling her bow at the thing.

Rolling her shoulders to loosen them, Azira pulled another arrow from her quiver, checking the shaft and the flights to make sure the arrow was all right before she put it anywhere near her bowstring. She nocked it, holding it steady before raising her bow arm and drawing the string back to her cheek in one fluid movement. She held the position for a few moments as she took careful aim. Holding the position made her arms begin to tremble but she struggled to keep her aim steady. Taking a deep breath, she exhaled and let the arrow fly. It moved quickly but didn't strike true, instead hitting the target a good 5 or 6 inches to the left of the bull's eye where it joined one of its brethren.

Grinding her teeth, the huntress waited a few moments, taking deep breaths and struggling not to just snap the bow in two. When she'd calmed down, she reached for another arrow.

[Ainyi]

Leather boots padded calmly and confidently on the stone floor as Ainyi entered the Quiver. It certainly wasn't her first time sneaking in, and it wasn't the last. There was a dead simple art she had found when going a place one didn't belong: believe you belonged. Her hands were still stained a brown-red from finishing her work in the Processing Center earlier, despite some fastidious scrubbing. Her arrows jiggled rhythmically in her quiver with every footstep.

Ainyi sighed inwardly at the other woman practicing there. She normally picked times when everyone else was at dinner to practice to avoid detection, though clearly someone else had a similar idea. This might be harder than she anticipated.

Act as you belong, and you will.

Ainyi strung Yasa and watched as the woman breathed in, and drew. She proceeded to hold it there, struggling to aim while her arms trembled in the weight. As it released, it fell into the outer rings, next to some brethren. The woman tried to retain composure, obviously upset that she had not yielded more successful results. Ainyi smirked quietly to herself, half out of pride, half out of bitterness.

Whatever this woman might have to say to her would have to wait; she wasn't going to come all this way to get kicked out without a shot. Her left hand gripped the glass handle as the right drew and arrow, playing with its feathers as it fell into the bowstring. She drunk a deep breath into her lungs, slowly and fluidly raising the arrow to her chin, dropping her shoulders, elongating her back, adjusting her feet. Her body was still; but only for a moment. Not a tick after she found this position, the arrow released with a whistle. Ainyi didn't move until the arrow landed with a confident thunk on the border of the bullseye circle and the one closest to it.

Ainyi looked back at the hunter, intense green eyes flaring in the torchlight. She offered a polite smile, and wordlessly drew another arrow.

[Azira]

A momentary glance to the side as she reached for an arrow made her pause. Someone else had entered the range while she was occupied, someone who had presumably seen her most recent failure. Her eyes did a quick examination of the girl, annoyed by her confident posture and higher stature. A cursory glance and her current location would lead one to the conclusion that she must be an Avora but Azira wasn't so sure. She was no seamstress and knew little of clothing but the fabric seemed less fine than that which the huntress was used to wearing. She could be wrong and the young woman's proficiency seemed to suggest it. She was much better than the huntress was and a spasm of jealousy went through her. If she was that good then she must be a huntress but no... Azira had not seen her any times that hunters gathered. She had seen her before though but where? Could she be a sponsored Chiet? Possibly.

The woman turned to her, flashing a polite smile in her direction. The Avora arched an eyebrow in question as she studied the woman's face in more detail. Just a few ticks of a full on view and the flash of familiarity came again. Whoever she was, she was a much better archer than Azira was and the young woman wasn't keen to show off her uselessness. It was her inadequacy with a bow that had brought her here in the first place and the presence of the better archer wasn't helping her confidence. She was reluctant to shoot now and that wasn't doing good things for her temper. Her inability to work out where she'd seen the woman before was also irritating her.

"Do I know you?" The words were out of her mouth before she could think. Retreating would have been a better idea but the thought of it offended her sense of pride. The stranger wouldn't make her leave and she wasn't going anyway until she could work out who she was. "I've definitely seen you somewhere before. Where?" the huntress asked, her voice filled with a certain amount of arrogance. It was a tone that suggested that an answer would not be refused her. It didn't matter to her whether or not she was talking to another Avora. The equal status meant little to her right now but if the girl was a Chiet then the possibility of causing offence wouldn't matter in the slightest.

[Ainyi]

"Do I know you? I've definitely seen you somewhere before. Where?"

Petch.

Ainyi stopped mid draw at the woman's question, taken aback at the demanding tone of it. The arrogance. Were she not in danger of being permanently forbidden to the range by angering an Avora, she might have even called her out on it. But she didn't.

"You have brought me deer," Ainyi plainly answered. The innate politeness was gone, but there was nothing rude about her either. "I butcher them, salt them, clean them for the cooks. Remove their furs, the sinews for bowstrings. Their bones for marrow in our soups." There was a conviction to her tone, but not necessarily pride. Ainyi raised another arrow with her blood-stained hand, and let it fly. It nested an inch to the right from her first.

Ainyi looked the woman over before drawing again. She could only think of one thing that might spare her longer here. She looked Avira up and down carefully, eying her as she chose her words.

"Your form is weak," She stated bluntly. "You spend so much time aiming the arrow, your body tenses up and ruins your form. Your shoulders hide under your neck, your back slumps." Before she would hear the woman's reply, Ainyi drew a third arrow, moved it slowly, but fluidly to position, and released it as soon as her thumb touched her lips. "Aim, is easier to learn. It will not take you time to aim at simple targets like that for long. But bad form will cripple you for life. You never want to hold the arrow longer than you inhale."

The third arrow stuck cleanly between her first two, kissing the crown of the bullseye. Ainyi flashed her another look, her tone only now showing a hint of bitterness. "But what do I know, eh? I'm just a butcher."

[Azira]

Her tone worked. The woman froze in the middle of her action, no flash of fear but she wondered if the girl had an inkling that trouble might be coming. The answer came easily from the other's lips, no evasion, no lies, just the plain truth. The Processing Centre. That's where she'd seen her, just another Chiet amongst many. Blood stained, tired looking but unremarkable. Yet she had remembered her, had picked her out as being out of place in the Avora range. She'd known that she hadn't belonged, even if she hadn't quite remembered why.

The butcher had no loss of confidence though. The fact that Azira had gotten her true caste out of her seemed to mean little to her. Chiet were allowed in the Avora range if they had a sponsor. This one was certainly good enough to catch someone's eye though she wasn't bad to look at either so that seemed the more likely cause of catching an upper casteman's eye. The huntress wasn't that interested in her, jealous somewhat, envious even of her bow skills but she wasn't quite bothered to attack the girl.

Until she criticised her form.

Criticism was something that the Avora could never take kindly to, couldn't bear in fact and for her to say it in that tone as if she had a right to comment on it infuriated her. To demonstrate it to her made the huntress grind her teeth, the woman's closing bitterness doing little to cool her growing ire. But she didn't explode for a change but only because the range brought a memory to mind. A criticism from only the season before, a situation that had turned violent, made her pause. She had more right to harm this Chiet than she had had to hurt that hunter but she might get in trouble for it. Better to get satisfaction from having her rightfully punished, sent to the Valintar for a whipping but the question was what would her 'crime' be?

The huntress regarded the butcher with humour and expectation in her eyes, a smirk closer to a sneer hinting at nastiness to come. "And who might your sponsor be, Chiet? You must have one of course because I know that you wouldn't dare to enter our range without having one," the teen murmured, her tone friendly, too friendly given the malice developing in her expression.

[Ainyi]

"And who might your sponsor be, Chiet? I know you wouldn't dare to enter our range without having one."

Ainyi teeth clenched in resentment at the young woman's tone. She raised another arrow out of spite, and shot it between her middle arrow and left arrow.

"I had one," She admitted tersely, eyes no longer attempting to hide her disgust for Azira's contempt. "A Bowyer named Braghna. He died in Fall. Perhaps you know of his work." The Chiet made no effort to hide Yasa's beauty from the Avora; the shortbow's cherry brown coloring was really made beautifully; the etched carvings of eagles and feathers that ran along the inside, when inspected up close, were simple, but elegant. The blue-silver glass hewn around the handle, however, was her mother's contribution. Strangely, the glass handle was both beautiful and functional, as it provided for a better grip than some cloth wrapped about the wood. The two painted feathers that hung from the bottom were the last, loving touch. Ainyi gripped its handle tight and as she lowered the bow from her shot, and pulled it close to her side to make clear that it was hers, and hers alone.

Ainyi thought a moment about stopping there. She thought about the young girl's arrogance, about her own position. Ainyi pursed her lips, felt her stomach rumble, and shook her head. Then she raised green eyes with a fire in them.

"I don't know how long ago you left your Yasi years," She began, tone no longer bothering with niceties, "But if you seriously think your arrogance to those who cook your food and clean your home will serve you well, you haven't learned a thing. Yes, I am Chiet. I also am a better archer than you. Not because I was told I would be one day, but because I was told to forget about it, and didn't listen. I am a better archer because I refused to let this city's laws stop me from practicing and training what I really wanted to do. And especially now, in a Famine, when our people can and will starve to death, your arrogance is not welcome."

Ainyi knocked another arrow, preparing another shot, trying to cement in this girl's mind how little her status meant to her. "After all, will your arrogance shoot the deer? When you come back empty handed from your hunts, will your arrogance feed our people instead? Can I cure it and save it for our emergency rations?" She pulled the arrow back, and let it fly. It deviated from the cluster slightly, falling just below the bottom of the bullseye, where the others rested on it's crown. "It cannot. So yes, you could take me to the Valintar. You could tell them of my practice, and I could be forever banished from this place."

Her eyes came back to Azira, hardened with an emptiness only hunger could provide. "Or, you could swallow your pride, realize we're in a famine and every arrow counts, and sponsor me. If I am sponsored, I can come and go here freely, and help other archers who are struggling. Perhaps even convince an Endal to take me as a Second Rider, and put my archery to good use. But my talents are of far more use to our people here than they are waiting for the young hunters to bring back meat."

Ainyi drew another arrow, held it a bit longer, and released. It fell two inches from to the right of the bullseye.

[Azira]

It was uncommon for the Avora to use her status to her advantage. Obviously she used it for meals and for her access to the range but it was rare for her to shove her superiority in the face of another these days. Though these days was a very recent thing. She rarely did it out of spite, only to get an advantage out of it but the girl had pushed her and the bloody Chiet had had to push back. The politeness of the other's tone had vanished to be replaced by a tone that was downright insubordinate. In her opinion, if she was arrogant in this situation she certainly wasn't the only one.

Her eyes did a quick sweep of the bow, taking in its fine construction and beautiful form but the huntress said nothing in reply. A fine bowyer had died yes but Azira preferred practicality over prettiness and while the butcher's bow obviously worked, she wondered how long it would last. She didn't miss the possessive gesture, a movement that spoke volumes in her opinion of the girl's character. Not a trodden down Chiet that was for sure but the caste wasn't as prone to complete subordination as the Dek were but even so, the woman was gutsy. Grudgingly, the huntress had to admit that she liked the other's attitude. At least in part. The other part of her wanted to put serious fear into her.

When their eyes met, Azira found herself blinking in surprise at the way the Chiet's gaze blazed. It was an unexpected sign of passion and the teen couldn't bring herself to look away from it. Accompanied with that tone, the Avora wondered how the girl hadn't had such fire beaten out of her already. The lower castes fascinated her just as much as they frightened her and this one fell into both categories. Her reprimand was as sharp as any teacher's could have been and the other had to resist the urge to flinch. She had always avoided the ire of her teachers, hating reprimand more than anything else so it was something she had avoided with diligence and obedience. It wasn't something she liked to have aimed at her now. It was something that upset her actually so to hide the threat of tears she narrowed her eyes at the archer.

When the Chiet finished her speech and fired at the target again, Azira had made up her mind. It wasn't conceding defeat. She wasn't bowing to the girl out of fear or something, no she was going to be kind by offering her the continued use of the range. Eyes closed, she pinched the bridge of her nose as she spoke words she hated to have to speak. "I'll concede that you're a better archer, Chiet but then archery has never been my strong suit," the huntress replied softly, her tone bitter at the last part. She hadn't meant to show that her archery ability was a bit of a sore spot but it had slipped into her voice without her meaning her it to. "And I'll allow your use of the range, just say Azira let you. It's highly doubtful that you'll end up an Endal's Second Rider though so I wouldn't bother with such aspirations.. Many of them are reluctant to take on archers for such work. Shooting from eagle back isn't an easy task, no matter how good the archer is so some of them don't bother," the teen explained.

Azira released her hold on her nose, lowering her hand to her side as she opened her eyes. Her gaze was disinterested when it met the Chiet's and she turned away after a few moments to return her attention to her target. She would ignore the Chiet from here on in. Flexing the muscles in her back, she nocked and arrow and the Avora took the time to make sure that her posture was correct before she raised the bow. It was brought up in a fairly fluid movement with her improved posture and the string drawn back after a few moments, giving her enough time to aim as she inhaled and exhaled. The string twanged on the exhale and the arrow soared to hit the target. Her shot was a few inches closer than it had been before. She regarded the target with surprise.

"Huh!"

[Ainyi]

"I'll concede that you're a better archer, Chiet but then archery has never been my strong suit. And I'll allow your use of the range, just say Azira let you. It's highly doubtful that you'll end up an Endal's Second Rider though so I wouldn't bother with such aspirations.. Many of them are reluctant to take on archers for such work. Shooting from eagle back isn't an easy task, no matter how good the archer is so some of them don't bother."

As the Avora pinched her nose in the regret of her own words, Ainyi exhaled slowly through her mouth; it appeared outwardly as a stretch, though within it the Chiet was sighing in relief. It was a risky call, to unload on someone that could control her fate. Though Ainyi wouldn't stand for such selfish attitudes now. It was true, the Famine had only just begun. She already heard the Yasi complaining of their empty bellies. She already felt less satisfaction at each dinner. With the chill of winter punishing each diminishing fat store, every hunt counted. Every arrow counted.

Ainyi bowed her head to Avira, the respect returning to her tone and demeanor. "Thank you for your kindness," She offered as calmly as she could. "Perhaps it is too far of a goal. But there's only one way to find out, no?"

Accepting the silence settling between them, she set another arrow. However, before she could pull to shoot, she heard a thunk of an arrow entering the target, and surprised, "Huh!" from Avira. The Chiet raised her eyes, and smirked. Ainyi examined the stance the Avora still held, noting her changes.

"Good form in your back and hips," She praised softly. "Next you pull back, try keeping your shoulder blades low and drawn together. It helps the arrow stay true to your aim."

Ainyi pulled back her bow, trying to focus on that technique herself. She held her shoulders taut and low as she drew, releasing as her shoulder blades clenched. While it didn't hit the center, it was certainly one of her closer arrows. She smirked, and drew again.

[Azira]

The huntress allowed a quiet and unladylike snort to escape her as the Chiet mentioned her "kindness". Kindness had nothing to do with it no matter how she tried to convince herself that she had only given in as an act of generosity. Azira had been bullied into feeling guilty by a Chiet no less. It was a thought that would make her cringe so instead she avoided it, tried to deny it. She couldn't even believe that the Chiet had managed it but somehow she had and now she had changed back to the obedient and respectful lesser citizen. The woman was more deceitful than she appeared to be able to switch between brow beater and submissive so well and not to have been punished for impudence.

What she assumed to be the butcher's true personality didn't take long to put in a reappearance. As the huntress examined her curiously proved shot, the Chiet piped up to give her further instruction, forgetting her place once more. She didn't even seem to realise that her aid was unwelcome. Yes, the teen wanted to improve but pride prevented her from taking aid from another, particularly one who was quite frankly beneath her. She had been reluctant to receive any aid from Kovac the previous season and he was her equal as well as being an archery instructor so the idea of listening to a Chiet butcher...

The girl had liked the praise though. She had long been starved of praise and so she followed the woman's advice despite herself in the hopes of a few words of encouragement, of approval. So once more, she nocked an arrow and adjusted her posture, keeping her back straight and adjusting her grip accordingly. When she drew the bow back, taking careful aim, she was also sure to lower her shoulder blades and draw them close together as she'd been told. The position felt uncomfortable, probably because of its strangeness but when she released the arrow, it landed closer to the centre than the one before. Taking encouragement from that, she nocked another arrow and took aim again, an exhale ending in the arrow burrowing into the target an inch off the last one.

"Huh! Easily a better archer," the huntress mumbled to herself, brow creasing as she glanced in the direction of her Chiet companion. How long has she had the chance to practise? the Avora wondered, teeth worrying at her bottom lip as she thought. "How often do you get a chance to shoot?" she asked, her tone casual but with a slight note of curiosity in it.

[Ainyi]

Ainyi's smiled widened at the improved shot, before taking her own. The arrow struck a little high. Sighing, she bowed her head to Avira's more successful shot. "Congratulations," the Chiet added. "You learn quickly. I look forward to preparing your next kill."

"How often do you get a chance to shoot?"

She paused at the question, returning her eyes to the teenager. There was an honest curiosity in her tone, free of animosity. The Chiet pondered the question, pondered how much to tell her. She pondered what harm it could do. Her hand stroked Yasa's grip gently as she debated what to say. Part of her felt she owed the girl an honest explanation; Ainyi didn't think she realized what relief she just gave her.

After a sustained silence, Ainyi slung Yasa over her shoulders, letting her arms hang loosely over them. She gazed at the arrows as she thought of where to start.

"Every other day, for many years," the butcher finally admitted. She remained still, save for the hand that fiddled with the bow. "My father took up bowing and fletching when he traveled the caravans, but when he came home he was assigned to the Gardens. He tells me, the one in charge at the time had a grudge from their Yasi years. He spent his own money on supplies, and made bows in his spare times. In my time as a Yasi, I wanted to be a hunter, but I didn't have the initial talent that they look for. I was assigned to help the Food Processing Center." Her fingers played with the feathers at the end of Yasa as she reminisced, never quite remaining still.

"So, we ended up helping each other, in some ways. Every other night, we would meet in one of the more secluded ends of the Warrens. We saved for a practice target, I would help him with fletching the arrows. He would make a bow, and then meet me to practice with him." A smile, and rather poignant laugh emerged at some of the hijinks involved in the memory. "If the bow broke, he knew he had to improve. If the bow held, and I missed the target, I knew I would have to improve. We had a few close calls with some Endal patrols, but we were able to avoid most major issues. Most we ever got was a slap on the wrist."

Offering a heavy sigh, she shrugged and brought Yasa back to her shooting hand, pulling an arrow. "When you do that on and off for nine years, you really don't have much of a choice but to get better. I started sneaking in here in the last couple years, when everyone else is at their meals. Though, not terribly often. Once he became an Avora, my father, he sponsored me. It only happened less than a season ago, so for a while after his death, I was just let in still, before word got around. I've only snuck in really the past two market days."

Ainyi drew an arrow, exhaling and releasing. It drew a little left. Suddenly, she blinked, as though woken from a trance. She had honestly not told anyone about how she trained, nor did she really feel the need to. It had been a while since she had talked to anyone, if she was honest. She was only really just starting to recover, but hadn't even thought to realize how little she'd been able to just...talk about it.

Clearing her throat, she forced an awkward smile. "I'm sorry. I suppose you would have liked a shorter version," She admitted, before nocking another arrow. "But, that is how often I've shot. That being said, thank you for sponsoring me. It will make my evening practice far less of a hassle."