[Flashback] Shooting, with a side of Friendship (Closed)

[Aidara]

Fen's actions were all done from the good of his heart, but they sat wrong on the girls shoulders. Aidara blinked at him, warring with her Inarta side that said to snap at him, that she wasn't a child. However, her good sense told her that he really didn't mean any harm, that concern drove his emotions. Her teeth caught and held her bottom lip, and she gnawed indecisively. Her hand lifted to absently play with her hair, slender fingers twirling strands of hair 'round and 'round and 'round... It was a nervous habit she was normally able to suppress. Her internal battle left Addy rooted to the spot, watching somewhat blankly at Fen as he walked back to his former seat, motioning her to follow. She must have looked like quite an idiot, standing there yet again with her mouth half opened, stock still and starting. After a few moments of that pose, she finally came back to the present and realized the scene she was making. A sigh, her face torn between a grimace and a smile, and Aidara knelt to unstring her bow. Taking an oiled cloth from within her quiver she carefully wrapping it around the string. Next, she slowly and carefully strutted- she always strutted- across the clearing and over to the targets, where she just as meticulously removed the arrows. One by one they plunked back into the quiver. Ah...She'd run out of things to do. With a resigned sigh, Addy turned to face the situation.....and even with all the time she had just bought herself, she still had no idea what to do. On the one hand, no one except her sister had ever shown her kindness for longer than they were between the bedsheets. Well, that was a lie. Everyone was kind to her, for the most part, but besides her twin, no one else cared about her wellbeing. So this was new to her. On the other hand, her firey Inarta heritage told her that she was being treated like a child. She knew how much she could take! How dare he stop her practice? Just because she was small of stature and slender of frame didn't meant she couldn't deal with more exertion than a child half her age. Good thing it was only Sai who was watching...well, hell, that was going to be bad enough. Torn, completely torn, Addy angled her path towards her twin. Taking a seat on the bench behind her, Addy took a hold of her sisters braid and began undoing it. Taking one of her own scarves from her hair, she began re-braiding her sisters in a more intricate pattern. Not because it looked bad to begin with, but because she needed something to keep her hands busy. And then she noticed Sairque was barely able to contain her laughter. Addy could feel her shaking, sitting this close to each other on the bench. That was what pushed her over the edge into anger, yet another thing for her sister to make fun of her for, and for the guilt she felt for Fen...He was only trying to be nice, after all. Addy watched him turn deep red and begin to shake, and shame mingled in with the anger, embarrassment and confusion. He didn't deserve to be laughed at, and she told Sai so with a sharp yank on her braid.

[Sairque]

Fen's response to her question about his favorite things to create was absentminded, and that adjective was generous as best. Concerned, her eyes popped open just in time to have him excuse himself so politely and rise to attend to Addy. What was he doing? Sai glanced over her sister's form, nope, she was doing everything right. Elbow, arm, shoulder, feet positioning were all good. She was focusing, she was breathing right, she was kicking their asses. This is what you got for practicing more often than once a week. All of her arrows were in the target.

"Stop," he ordered her. Sai's mouth dropped open, and she perked up to get a better view of her sister, wary now. The resemblance between the sisters when they were concerned or shocked was uncanny, but when a conflict came up, their expressions were a clear indicator of their differing personalities.

When Fen turned around, he would find Sai sliding a simple eating knife back into her waistband, not yet having altered her stance from one to sprint across the distance between herself and her twin. Addy probably would have caught the spike in her emotion when the man had put his hand around her arm. But he had let her go and everything was okay. The athletic Inarta settled herself back down with Fen simultaneously, eyeing his new coloring and wondering why she had ever thought he would lay a hand on anyone in a violent manner. Silly girl.

While amused at her own behavior, an overprotection that was possibly detrimental to her sister, the laughter that bubbled up like a mountain spring had nothing to do with herself. Poor Addy, he thought she was going to hurt herself! The delicate little flower that she was. Like she was going to rip her arm off, or pull her muscles from their anchorings, if she shot too many arrows at once. Was he trying to be a knight in shining armor?

Whatever, it was absolutely adorable. On both their parts. Poor Fen was all embarrassed and about to have an anxiety attack, and Addy was humiliated. Was this love's first blossoming between them? The thought only made her laugh harder, though she was careful not to move her head too much while her sister re-braided her hair with the silk scarves.

"You're up, Fen," she encouraged with a nod to the target. And then she was going to restring Addy's bow and give a serious attempt at hitting the bullseye.

[Fenilen]

An awkward silence lingered in the air after his action. The man stared at the ground, a neutral expression on his face, as he contemplated what exactly he had done. Sure, he had interrupted Aidara's volley of shots, but was that really so stunning? He had only done something kind, something to preserve the health of a friend. Could he call her a friend? Yes, he felt he could. They seemed to be hitting it off pretty well... But what did he know? His only friend was his sister, and his relationship with her was nothing like their relationship. They seemed to be wanting to become better than one another at every turn, to do something more than the other had just done. He and Emory worked in tandem, performing tasks together that neither could do alone... Except for when she climbed up trees to get away from him. Damn his fear of trees.

Sairque broke the silence, informing him that it was his turn to loose a volley of arrows at the target. Wonderful. He rose to his feet, grabbing the bow that was propped against the bench. His pale shoulders rolled two or three times, and then he pointed the bow downrange. He could do this. He just had to get the string back. Maybe he could try raising his elbow, as Aidara had suggested? Hell, it was worth a shot.

The fact that the twins were watching him didn't help Fenilen's self-confidence. He reached over his shoulder, drawing an arrow and notching. He could do this. His injured hand wrapped tightly around the wood of the bow while his two fingers gripped the shaft of the arrow. He could do this. With a heave, Fenilen began to pull back to string.

Heave! Pull! Only a few inches more! Centimeters! Millimeters! Almost there! He watched as the head of the arrow approached the wood of the bow. His arm trembled as he pulled, straining against the resistance the wooden bow provided. There! It has made it! He released, watching the arrow leave the string, and fly forth!

Or at least, that was what he wanted to happen. In reality, he had held too far back on the arrow, and the fletchings had been tarnished. It had spun awkward in the air, slamming into the ground before the target. The Inarta sighed a grumbled. He would hit this target, if it took the last of his energy, if the arrow was fired with the last breath to ever fill his lungs!

Another arrow was drawn from the quiver, notched to the string. He didn't wait. A sharp breath, and a strong pull. Pull! His muscles screamed in agony as they dealt with the resistance the bow provided. One hundred or more pounds of resistance pulled against his arm-- but he would best it! He would hit the target! He would fire an arrow properly! Nothing could stop him!

Twang! The string sang again, and the arrow shot through the air. Thump! The arrow had hit its mark! Of course, Fenilen did not see this. He was too busy cursing vehemently-- a sight that was rarely seen by anyone-- as he rubbed his biceps. Damned longbow. Damn pride. It did nothing but get him hurt. Without even looking at the target, he walked back to the bench, leaning his bow against it as he stretched his right arm, trying to ease the pain that the work had caused. Only out of the corner of his eye did he notice the target, and only then did he notice the arrow sticking out of it, a few inches from the center.

No. He couldn't have hit the target. That must have been one of Aidara's arrows, or one of Sairque's arrows. But there had been no other arrows in it when he had started firing. His gaze looked at the girls, as if he assumed this was a joke, and then back at the target. This little circuit of glances repeated a few more times, until he finally spoke.

"By the Goddess, I hit it," it was little more than a whisper.

[Aidara]

Addy could see that her reaction hurt her friends feelings and that drained all of the anger from her. She watched him fidget and think to himself... well, she assumed he was thinking to himself from the blank look in his eyes and the way his facial expressions changed more rapidly than usual. Whatever he was thinking about sure did stir up a plethora of emotions. When Fen snapped out of it, Aidara tried to catch his eye. She offered an apologetic smile from her hiding place behind her sister. It was almost comical the way she peered around her sisters muscular shoulder, her green eyes bright with worry but her face lit by her smile. When Sai called Fen up for his turn, Aidara reached around her sister to place an encouraging pat on his shoulder before he stood. The man strode away, his posture completely lacking anything close to confidence or excitement. In fact, he looked almost completely defeated. "Maybe we shouldn't watch..." Addy whispered conspiratorially into her sisters ear. She rose, stepped around Sai's legs and sat back down on the other side of her. A twist of her torso and Addy was facing her sister, although she could still see Fen as he picked his spot in front of the target from her peripheral. If he happened to look over it would look as if they were only partially watching his progress, and hopefully that would take the pressure off, and maybe.....he would be able to hit something. Like the target, ideally. "You shouldn't have laughed, Sairque" Oh no, the full name treatment "it wasn't very nice. I know, I know- you're not nice, blah blah" her full lips turned down at the corners in a frown, her pale brow furrowing. "He's fragile, can't you tell? For once, be nice. Please. I have a feeling about him. This" a slender finger pointed to the distant figure of the man struggling with his bow "will be a good friend to have. For the both of us... Do you really want to isolate him from us?" Her speech done, Addy copied her sisters pose from earlier- stretching out on the bench to soak up as much sun as possible. Hiking up her bryda, she exposed the pale skin of her legs. Next she rolled up the hem of her vinati to her breasts, so the skin of her abdomen was also exposed. Throwing her head back, Addy sighed. This really did do good for the body and mind, the feeling of the warm rays pulsing against her skin acting to calm her nerves. But they didn't dull her senses as she lulled into a comfortable half sleep state. Green eyes snapped open at the same instant Fen's arrow hit the target. Both brows were raised in shock as her gaze flickered from the target to her sister, quite sure she would find a look of disbelief on her sisters face as well. With out another moments hesitation, Addy was off the bench and bounding towards her friend, bouncing up and down and clapping. "You did it! You did it!" Aidara had left the bench before Fen had even taken the time to see if he had hit the target, since he most likely assumed he had missed. It was at the same time that the redheaded man had glanced over his shoulder to check his success when Addy's body connected with his. The momentum of the girls attack sent them both toppling to the ground. Laughing as they rolled across the grass a few times before coming to a stop, Addy ruffled Fens hair, pinching his cheek as she congratulated him. " And you got closer to the center than any of mine!" In her excitement, Aidara had completely forgotten that their fragile friend was....well, fragile. It didn't even occur to her that while she had no need for personal space, he might enjoy some. Oblivious, Addy sprawled out on the grass, chest heaving as she laughed and tried to catch her breath at the same time.

[Sairque]

Addy and Sai worked together when it counted, but all bets were off when they were having fun. And this definitely counted as leisure time. For instance, had Fenilen not immediately released Addy's wrist, they would have experienced an immediate shift from fun to ass kicking. Well, Sai would have, in which case she would have immediately come to her sister's rescue, and at which time Addy probably would have tried to point out that she was over reacting. Okay, so bad example. Anyway, it was all relative.

Maybe she should have been a little more considerate of Fen's feelings, it was just so funny that Addy was treated like a child. Fen really should have been laughing, too. Didn't he see the humor in the situation? Apparently not, which Addy reminded her of by continuing to peek over her shoulder at the man, and then eventually reaching around to give him an encouraging touch.

Sai had calmed down to a broad smile by the time Fen stood and moved away, the smile was neither derisive nor encouraging. Rather like she was simply waiting to the see the outcome of his attempt, and might be happy for him should he do well while probably not caring if he did poorly. Lots of people suck at things they're trying for the first few times. Honestly, she expected him to perform horribly, it's just how things went. And she wouldn't be much better when she got up to try again. Though, she could at least pull the bow back with little problem, having the strength to hold it for a few seconds before releasing. Addy was right, they shouldn't stare at him.

Sai returned to her sun bathing, leaning back to display her mid rift for the little beams of light that warmed so well, head tilted to expose her neck also. All she could hear was the thwap of the bow, her sister's prattling, and the breeze gently ruffling vegetation. Mn, what a life. The term prattling used affectionately, of course.

"Oh Addy, I wasn't laughing at him, I was laughing at you. Of course, I don't want to alienate him from us, I think he's perfectly charming." Sairque's eyes weren't open to see the finger pointing, but she had a pretty good idea of who they were speaking of. "I like him," she finished succinctly, what else did Addy need to know? Because not all charming people were likable. He had already been added to the 'In Desperate Need of Protection' category. Addy was in the 'Protect at all Costs' category. It was hard to get into that latter group, and Sai had to have really taken a shine to a person to put them into the former. Not that anyone knew she meandered around Wind Reach putting people into little boxes that dictated how she reacted around them. Boxes were fun.

And then Addy was shrieking and bouncing and giggling...and gone, once Sai opened her eyes. Ah. They were rolling around on the ground together. He sure took a boost to his confidence well, hitting the target must be like steroids for social grace. Puts one arrow in the target and he's already thinking he can take a little tumble in the proverbial hay with Addy. Sai rose to her feet and strode over, looking down at the two. They would make a cute couple! And if he continues working with his bow, he might even be able to feed her and their kids.

"Good job, Fenilen! Got the skillzzz and the girl, hmn?" Grinning widely, she let the kids have their fun and turned to retrieve Addy's bow. Hopefully the excitement of his success would help smooth over that little blip of awkwardness between all of them and get them back on even footing. The boy really was a darling, and Sai knew that he had just been concerned about Addy pulling a muscle or something.

Working at the bench so recently vacated, she laid out Addy's arrows, and the string, and the staff-like bow. The string got hooked over the bottom end of the bow, a little pressure got applied, very carefully, and the other end of the string went over the other end of the bow. There. Thankfully it hadn't shattered into a million pieces and left her ugly, blind, and ugly. Not that she was so shallow. Grabbing a handful of arrows, Sai got in position where Fen and Addy had been shooting from. Personally, she liked to start close to the target and then work out depending on how well she was shooting.

She leaned the bow against her side and closed her eyes, recalling the stress that was placed on her arms and shoulders the last time she had shot. Her muscles responded, tingling and getting ready to accept the work again. It was a familiar exercise, a nice warm up to any physical activity. It might just be mental, but either way, it worked.

Okay. The bow was taken up again, an arrow was knocked, the tools held loosely in her hands as she looked down the range to the target. Draw. Smoothly, the bow lifted, the string met her ear, her elbow rotated out of the way. Aim. Hips and shoulders squared up, one golden eye gazed down the shaft to the bullseye. Breath. Inhale, exhale, hold. Release. Fingers splayed, the snap of the string breezed her face, her left arm absorbed the momentum not taken by the arrow as it shot out.

It hit just an inch or two away from Fen's arrow. She supposed she could have let him retrieve all of his stuff, but the two kiddies looked so comfy in the grass.

A second arrow was knocked, but Sai held the bow loosely while she mentally prepared herself and let her arms rest for a few seconds. Draw. Smoothly, the bow lifted, the string met her ear, her elbow rotated out of the way. Aim. She hadn't moved her lower body so she was still squared up to the target. The bright circle at the center was all that mattered. Her yellow eye peered down the length of the shaft. Breath. Inhale, exhale, hold. Release. This arrow thudded to a stop on the backdrop of the target, over eight inches to the left. It was something with her release of the arrow. She was flinching or something, and the projectory was thrown off.

A third arrow was knocked, but Sai held the bow loosely while she mentally prepared herself. She needed to figure out what she was doing that moved the bow to the side. Draw. Smoothly, the bow lifted, the string met her ear, her elbow rotated out of the way. Aim. The bullseye was large in her field of vision. Breath. Inhale, exhale, hold. Tighten your frame, hold your frame. Don't move. Release. Fingers splayed, the snap of the string breezed her face, her left arm arm quivered with the force of the bow releasing. Her right hand was still held up by her eye, fingers straightened but relaxed now. The third arrow was closer to the bullseye by about five inches. It must be her shoulders shifting when she had been dropping her right arm immediately after releasing the string.

[Fenilen]

Secret :

Sorry, I couldn't come up with much else D:

Oof! Fenilen's breath left his lungs as Aidara collided with him. Not having expected the blow, he was unprepared. He went down without much trouble, hitting the ground with a soft thump. He rolled along with her, more oofs and cute noises passing through his lips. By the time they had come to a complete stop, his face was scarlet, his arms spread out wide, his breath coming in sharply. Hah, he had managed to breathe! Now that suffocation was no longer an issue, he took a quick assessment of his situation.

He had indeed hit the target, as yet another examination proved. Wow. He had actually hit it. He should hit targets more often, if this was the response he got. Sairque's teasing brought him back to reality, and it was only then that he noticed Aidara's playful movements. A pinch of the cheeks, a ruffling of the hair, a wide grin... It was only natural that the awkward boy turned all shades of bright red from this. Sairque's teasing didn't help. Getting the girl? What did she mean? He hadn't done anything, he had only managed to hit a target. He hadn't expected this sort of reaction from anyone.

Oh, Goddess. Aidara was on top of him. He didn't know why this realization came later than the others, he just knew that it did. Stranger yet, after this realization, he felt himself relax. His tensed muscles finally released, leaving him lying limply in the grass, under her touch. While his body relaxed, it took a while for his mind to. He had never been this close to a woman before. What was it supposed to mean? He could have sworn they were just friends, but this action seemed to beg to differ. Unless he was assuming things, and this was what some friends do. What did he know about anything?

Relax. Clear your thoughts. She meant him no harm. He was overreacting. He decided to enjoy it while he could. That included overcoming his fears, if only for a brief, brief moment. Arms rose from his sides and wrapped around her waist, whilst a smile played across his face. A small, uncertain smile, but a smile none the less. He lifted his head from the grass, making eye contact with her as they laughed and giggled on the ground together, his face still bright red.

"I hit it," he declared proudly, his smile turning into a grin. "I can't believe I actually hit it..." he trailed off, laying his head back down, smiling at her while his eyes looked into hers. He held this gaze for a few seconds before looking away, uncertain if it was appropriate. He separated the embrace for only a moment, to remove the quiver from his back-- to save the arrows from a crushing (literally) fate. The moment they were off and aside, his arms were back around her waist. However, his gaze remained away, watching Sairque loose her shots at the target. Ugh. Both of them were better shots than him.

The man's grin faded into a frown, and he turned to Aidara, as if looking for some sort of encouragement, like a lost puppy would. Such a lack of self-confidence. One almost wondered what had instilled this sense of fear and uncertainty into the boy. Clank! The Talon sword that had been placed against the bench slumped over onto the ground, and Fenilen's eyes darted over. A sigh of relief left his lips as he examined it. Still intact. Putting glass designs in the hilt was a slightly silly idea...

[Aidara]

It wasn't until Fen's face started to turn dangerous shades of red and purple did Aidara realize what exactly she had done to the poor, easily frightened man. Oh good goddess, he's going to have a stroke... Addy fumbled at the Fens clothes, reaching for the neck of his shirt, fingers pressing under his jawbone for his pulse. Of course, it was extremely accelerated. Slightly panicked that she had basically sent their new friend into a fit, Addy started to climb off of him when she felt his body go limp. oh no.. She whipped back around, expecting to see a completely unconscious form beneath her. But instead, he was staring up at her with an amusing combination of surprise and terror on his face. Aidara couldn't help but giggle, a delicate tinkling sound, now that she knew he was in no immediate danger. She had just startled him out of his wits. Addy watched as his internal dialog played clearly across his features. Panic, confusion, determination, a small smile...and he relaxed. She relaxed too, though she slid from her position on top of him down onto the grass by his side, though she didn't remove his arms from her waist. It was a comforting feeling, almost protective, which was odd since Aidara knew right well that the man would probably have trouble defending himself from a butterfly. If what he cared even for was in danger, however, he was sure he would probably be able to.....And Addy stopped those thoughts in their tracks. It was too soon, they just met this afternoon. What was this man doing to her? Icky, mushy, romantic thoughts werenot her forte....and yet, his arms felt so good.... No. No, she wouldn't. Not yet. Shaking herself from her revirie, Addy also watched her sister riddle the target with her arrows. A smug smile twitched her lips for a moment; her arrows had hit closer to the center than her sisters, but it was bad form to brag and she bit back her smile. "I can't believe I actually hit it..." Fen was saying, and she smiled over her shoulder at him, patting his arms where they circled her waist. "Yes, you did. It was very good, the elbow trick helped, eh? I'm glad. Keep at it, you will only get better." He needed encouragement where ever he could get, she knew, and had no problem providing it in large quantities. Addy opened her mouth to rattle off other tips that could potentially improve his archery prowess when the sword clattered from the bench. Startled, Addy began to spring from the grass when she realized what it was. Allowing Fen's arms to pull her back into a sitting position she sized him up over her shoulder once more "A sword, eh? I never would have figured you the type. It's a big one too. I don't think I could lift it, but then again I've never tried. With anything other than a bow, even." She nodded, clearly impressed as she continued to eye the sword. And then she had her own idea. "Sai...did you bring your dagger? Lets see how good our little glassblower is on his toes.."

[Sairque]

OOCKinda short and all, but couldn't say too much without knowing how Fen was going to react

Ignorant of the stress her sister was putting on their befuddled new friend, Sai strode forward to retrieve her sister's arrows from the target. Not very good grouping, okay, that was being generous, in reality there was no grouping at all. The shooting was sloppy, but then again, she wasn't very good at all. Just had a technique down, a form that was solid and made up for her lack of skill. Add wind or speed to the equation, and she was hopeless. But, there was neither wind nor a time limit, so she had hit the target and the backing it was painted on. It had helped that she had warmed her muscles up, there hadn't been nearly as much shake in her arms as there had been when she had shot earlier.

"Sai...did you bring your dagger?" Addy called out. No way was she serious. One brow arched, she turned away from the target, a handful of arrows in her left hand and the bow in her right. There they were, Addy thinking she had a great idea, and Fen still looking a little under the weather. For long moments she just stared at them with her startled yellow eyes. Addy was serious. Sai glanced over at the sword she had seen on the bench earlier. It looked sharp. All she had was a dagger, and had never once tried to fight someone with a sword. And Addy couldn't even heal them if they cut each other to ribbons. She could disinfect the wounds, but that was about it. They would have to limp their asses down to the infirmary area. What if they lost an eye?! Or fingers?! That sword was huge compared to her dagger, it would get a lot of momentum up before hitting her.

Sounded like a good time if she had ever heard one! Sai smirked, nodding once. "If our good friend Fen here is willing, we can figure something out." Giving him time to think it over and answer, she strode over to the bench. Already her body language had changed, becoming more aggressive and confident, fluid and graceful as her body anticipated getting sliced to bits. Arrows were slid into the quiver, careful of tips and fletching, and the bow was quickly unstrung and stored. Then she turned around again, a hard focus in her yellow eyes and a dagger produced from somewhere within the folds of her bryda.

[Fenilen]

The light-hearted grin returned to the man's face as Aidara complimented him. Compliments were good. They made him feel like he might have actually accomplished something. A part of him felt somewhat sad when Aidara began to sit up, but the feeling was, unsurprisingly, swept away when she laid back down. Hm, he should really give her a nickname. Would that be appropriate? Fenilen nodded politely when she commented on the sword he had placed against the bench. When she commented on how she hadn't found him the type, he shrugged lazily. "I have to defend myself and my sisters somehow. Wind Reach is too... dangerous to do otherwise," he had paused for a while, searching for the right word to say. Yes. Dangerous fit the description of his home well. A place where spontaneous knife fights were common, due to no causes other than wounded prides and damaged egos, could only be described as dangerous.

"It's not that big. It only weighs about four or five pounds, at the most," Fenilen corrected quietly. "If you can pull back the bow-- which I know you can-- you can hold a sword. Easily."

Eep. The glassblower frowned at the mention of fighting. He carried a sword, sure, but that didn't mean he knew how to use it very well. Part of the reason he carried the sword was just to intimidate people into *not* challenging him to some sort of knife fight. The guy who carries a sword around is generally a poor target for someone with a knife. The sword imparted the advantage of reach unto its wielder, so theoretically, all he had to do was keep the knife-wielder at a distance.

Easier said than done, most likely. At least he was competent enough with the weapon to avoid cutting himself in his swipes. Or at least, he felt he was. He would have to prove that in a few moments. His green eyes fell upon Addy-- that was what he would call her, if she permitted it-- and he frowned. He let go of her waist, a disappointed look in his eyes as he sat up silently. "I'm fine with it," Fenilen finally declared, a small hint of uncertainty in his voice. He pushed up to his feet, offering Addy his hand to help her up to her feet. When she accepted or denied it, he strode over to the bench, grabbing his sword in one hand.

The blade left its sheath silently, glinting in the sunlight. He rested his hands upon the intricately designed hilt, exhaling slowly and deeply. He walked away from the twins. He needed to become accustomed to the feel of the blade before he could use it to defend himself. He had that luxury now, thankfully.

He held the blade in front of him in a steady, two handed grip. The interesting thing about the Talon sword was its hilt. The damn thing's hilt was the same size as the blade-- meaning that the positioning of your hands really did affect the power and speed of the swing, much more so than a simple longsword. He would experiment with the positioning of his hands, see how they affected the blade.

First, a horizontal swing, hands near the neck. The blade sliced through the air gracefully, glistening in the sun. Swish! A fast strike indeed, finished in a few moments. However, it's reach was short, and it's overall power was most likely low. The control was excellent, though. Good for knocking an opponent off balance at a closer range to line up more powerful swipes, perhaps?

He slipped his hands down to the bottom of the hilt, doing a nearly identical swipe. This strike had a much farther reach, and also seemed more powerful. However, even in one strike, he could feel the reduced control-- and the reduced speed. Not too mention, part of the hilt was included in his strike. If he were to even attempt using it at close range, there was more than a fair chance that the hilt would connect with the target instead of the blade. Using this weapon was indeed going to be a complicated little affair, but it was better than using a knife!

Let's try a combination of maneuvers. Fenilen returned to the neutral position, and then swept up. When the blade neared the level of his face, he slipped his right hand down to the bottom of the hilt, rotating the sword and slicing left. Looked decent enough. Time to attack and then parry. Swoosh! Swipe to the right! The imaginary opponent hacked down at his chest, a brutal strike. Crack! The flats of the blades connected, Fenilen's parry sending the other man's blade far out to the left. With a silent swipe, the imaginary opponent's entrails covered the ground.

Oh no! Another, coming from behind! Spin! Parry with a swat to the right! No, his blow was parried, they were closing in, they were too close. Slide his grip up, choke the hilt, downward sweep! Metal met flesh, and the opponent fell. To the left, 70 degrees! The opponent thrust a spear at his gut, intent on piercing his abdomen. He would not get that glory. Fenilen jumped from the path of the spear, uncertain as to how he should deflect a stab. Hands slid down the blade, feeling the pommel, and a vicious hack was shot at the ghostly image. The sword sliced through flesh and bone alike, and the image was now headless.

Of course, it was quite hilarious to watch. Fenilen appeared to be spinning and turning at random, slashing at things no one but him could see, fighting a desperate battle for his life, when in reality he was safe in the grass outside of Wind Reach. He snapped back to reality, and flushed ever so slightly, walking back towards the twins.

"Sorry," he said quietly, sheathing the blade and leaning it against the bench. "I... got carried away." He frowned.

[Aidara]

"I think Sai is ready...Fen, are you scared?" It was a rhetorical question, a laugh bubbling from her lips as Aidara watched her sister quite decisively prepare herself to spar with their new friend, producing a dagger almost out of thin air. Addy didn't even want to think about where she could have pulled the blade from. Her laugh subsided to a contented smile as Fen spoke to her from over her shoulder. Nodding to show that she was listening, Addy leaned back just a bit more, settling herself against Fen's side as he spoke, pulling his arms tighter around her waist. It was a tiny move, one that she could shrug off as just adjusting her position, but she was sure that Fen, as well as her twin, would both see it as the deliberate "cuddle" that it was intended to be. "It's not that big. It only weighs about four or five pounds, at the most.." Aidara blinked, a delicate brow raising as she looked back over towards the bench where the sword lay on the ground. Really? That's all? Hm... Maybe sparing with her sister in future practices wasn't completely out of the question. She considered practicing with Fen but...her gaze swiveled over her shoulder, a quick glance at his face while he spoke, to take assessment. No, she didn't think he would be able to spar with her. Without a doubt, he would be too scared of hurting her to do a proper job defending himself against her clumsy attacks. Either she would hurt him, or she would get nothing from the practice. But maybe....there was possibility there. Already, Fenilen seemed to be calming down around the twins. He barely stammered when he spoke directly to them, and his blushes seemed to be less stroke-inducing then they had been. He was even semi-confident and almost relaxed as he held her there on the grass. Addy could still feel him tense whenever she shifted, even slightly, or breathed too deeply. It was as if he expected her to stand up and bolt away into the woods, screaming in terror. It was cute, endearing, something Aidara never would have thought she'd be sitting with, smiling contentedly. "I'm fine with it.. That made her eyes widen in shock. No. Way. Her gaze switched to where her sister stood, poised for action. She'd actually been standing like that for quite a few moments now, and Aidara had started to wonder if she was okay. Oh, she blinked. All was well. Even though Addy knew that Sai would never touch her with the dagger, she would still need a huge dose of courage to enter willingly into a spar with her twin, or be feeling in a particularity reckless mood. They'd fought before and Addy came out the worse for wear. She wasn't really keen on jumping back into another situation to get her ass kicked. Now Fen was taking up the offer that Addy had thrown out in jest. What had come over the man? Was he so ashamed that he stopped her archery practice that he was now suicial? Maybe she should put a stop to this before someone got hurt... But he was up and away before she could even open her mouth to protest. On the positive side of things, he did seem a tad reluctant to leave her side. Good, very good. Another warm blush rose to her cheeks as she fought back a smile. Flipping onto her stomach, Addy kicked her feet up into the air behind her, folding both her hands on the grass and resting her chin on top. From this position, she could watch both Sai and Fen in their respective spots without having to turn her head all that much. Perfect. Aidara watched her sister for a moment, making note of the way she held her dagger, how tightly she gripped the hilt, the way she held her shoulders and her body in relation to where she held her blade. Notes were taken of the way Sai placed her feet, the muscles in her legs bunching as she held herself poised so quietly, waiting. Addy memorized her sisters form and tucked the information away for later use. It was an easy way to do things, to be honest, when your sisters body was built almost exactly like your own. Except for muscle development that let Sai pull herself up cliff faces and Aidara draw back a stronger bow, they were identical in that sense. Movements at the corner of her eye caught her attention, and drew her gaze from her sister to where fen...was having a seizure? No, that wasn't what was going on. Looking closer, Aidara very clearly saw him adjust his grip swing, adjust again, swing some more. And then he started dancing. It was really the only way to describe what she saw. A delicate brow rose in disbelief and she glanced over at Sai, as if silently asking if she was seeing the same thing. Fen moved with the sword and graceful arcs that banked and cut with what seemed like deadly precision. However, it became apparent that this was a mock battle against inviable foes, so it was hard to judge of his precision was really deadly or not. Either way it was beautiful, the way man and sword moved together and around each other. Fen may have claimed that he didn't have much skill with his sword, but he sure did put on a good show. Whether or not he could back up such pretty movements with the power needed, was a different story, as well as if he could catch Sai at the end of his blade at all. Anyone could be good at battling imaginary foes.. up against a certain snarky woman, whose carbon copy lounged around watching the spar with certain investment....It seemed the cards were stacked against poor Fen and his novice-ness. Poor guy. At his apology, Addy clapped politely, pushing herself to her feet and striding over. "Before you two get into it...May I?" Holding out her hand for the sword, she waited only a few moments before removing it from Fen's hand and grasping it in both of hers. A gregarious smile in his direction and she held the blade level in front of her. The point sagged just a bit, and she tightened he muscles in her arms, flicking her wrist and bringing the point back up and level again. Taking a deep breath, Addy moved the blade back and forth in a swishing motion, getting a feel for the blades ability to cut the after after a couple passes. Shew, the thing was pretty heavy after waving it around for a few minutes. Wrinkling her nose in dismay as the point of the blade slowly but surely drooped back towards the ground, no matter how much she stiffened the muscles in her arms in attempt to bring it back up. With a sigh, she chalked it up as Sword: 1, Aidara: 0. Still pouting, she handed the sword back to Fen and plopped herself down onto the bench, folding her legs up underneath her. Although her gaze caught the sight of her bow, as it laid abandoned behind her sister, she ruefully raised her voice so they could both hear. "I...Think I'll watch you guys first..."