Arrows' Flight (Dymphna, Arand)

[Arand]

Arand rolled his eyes and let loose a small smile as he strolled over to the couple. Sam tried to show off a bit of acrobatics to Dymphna but Arand payed little attention to it. He had seen some of the stunts other Drykas pulled and he had to admit that some of them were pretty amazing. Personally, Arand had never actually tried anything flashy while riding. He preferred to simply get things done rather than be flashy about it. But still, riding while standing up would be kind of awesome. Dangerous...but awesome.

"Well, i would be worried about that kind of thing too." Arand chuckled. "Yeah, I've got the heart to help you, but I've got my work cut out for me, thats for sure." Arand said.

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

Sam was all smiles, both for Dymphna and for Arand, though there was the slightest of considering looks in the other man's direction, as if part of him couldn't help but project the odds that he would try to come between Sam and the girl that he was getting to like far too much far too quickly. But it didn't last. He was, despite all odds and experience, the trusting sort. "I'll have to cook for you sometime," he mused, though he was far from expert himself. He put the newly strung bow in her hand, and began to maneuver her into a proper archer's position with tentative hands, though he would have to all but embrace her to take her through the motions of drawing and releasing. "Watch the form for us, Arand Shadowsky?"

[Dymphna]

“Sam, you can cook for me any time you like,” she said with a giggle. But she was quick to turn serious as Sam put the bow into her hands. There was a cautious glance to him and then to Arand. Looking at her carefully, it would likely be noted that the girl was shaking the slightest bit as soon as the bow made contact with her again. Without any help, her fingers wrapped about its neck properly. At some point someone had taught her archery, as she’d already said, but it was likely a bit strange that she had seemed to forget such an important skill. She fell sort of quiet, looking at the target they’d eventually tell her to shoot at. Swallowing nervously, she did her very best not to loose the death grip she had on her composure, even as she found herself being moved about and touched more and more.

[Arand]

"Well my first piece of advice would be to calm down. Relax, you are shooting at a target, nothing else. If you keep shaking like that, your going to have a better chance at hitting your ally rather than your target." Arand said. "Here look at my stance and try to mimic it as best you can."

Arand pulled an arrow from his quiver and notched it. He stood with his legs shoulder width apart and pulled his bowstring back until his index finger nearly touched his mouth. He looked up at the target and began to line the shot up. He had no intention of releasing the arrow of course but, he had to act as if he was in order to show her an authentic demonstration.

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

Sam watched Arand take his stance to see if there were anything substantively different from the method he had been taught, and decided that they were on the same page for the most part. His foot nudged gently at the inside of her ankle to widen her stance a bit. His hands made firm corrections, then rested lightly on her own hands, allowing her to go through the motions she too had been taught, but ready to fix anything he saw going awry. "Draw back," he said quietly into her ear, "on an inhale, sight the target, and release on an exhale." His breath was warm in her hair. "Just like Arand Shadowsky." He wasn't attempting to be annoying, but he was rather smitten with Dymphna.

[Dymphna]

Calm down… She took a deep breath at the command and logic that she wasn’t shooting anything living. For a moment she thought of calming things… Roots, leaves, berries, and new dresses. Puppies. Cool water on a hot day. Dara being born. … More shopping. She wanted a new dress, though it would have to wait until Winter so she could get a nice heavy fabric to keep warm in… Oh, right… Archery. She needed to practice with a bow, and that’s what she was doing. Her eyes went to Arand, and she moved to correct her obvious flaws. Sam’s hands moving about on her caused her to blink, and his warm breath turned her cheeks pink again. There was a tiny nod given to both the men before she looked at the target. She took a deep breath, drawing back the string until the side of her hand brushed her cheek – Just as she’d been taught to do years back. And on the exhale she released… The arrow went nearly a foot above the target and out into the field behind it. Her hand, now free of the string, went to cover her gaping mouth.

[Arand]

Arand decided to let go of his arrow his arrow too, just for fun. Arand quickly lined up his shot and released. Maybe too quickly because once again, not a bullseye, not really that close to one either. It hit one of the outer rings of the target. But, unlike Dymphnas shot, his did hit the target. Arand turned his attention back to Dymphna.

"Well, atleast the arrow actually went somewhere. And your still standing, that's an improvement" Arand said with a smirk on his face. "Now all thats left is too simply keep practicing, improvement will come naturally. Now load up another arrow, oh and I forgot to mention, always check the wind. If there is a breeze, wait for it to calm down, if there is not sign of it calming, make sure to aim the arrow according to the wind direction" he explained.

Arand also loaded an another arrow and took his usual stance for Dymphna to follow.

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

"I'm sure you got the glassbeak that was laying in wait in the grass back there," he said, squeezing her shoulders encouragingly. Arand didn't seem all that helpful, and by this Sama'el assumed the were bothering him. He gave Dymphna a friendly pat on the shoulder, then stepped away to collect his own bow and nock an arrow. After all, should they marry, it would be good for her to be able to fend off attackers with a bow, but he would be the one hunting for food with one, a more constant need. But he did eye Arand's stance, shifting his own body into a near semblance of it, and paused until the caress of the breeze ceased to tickle his cheek. Then he loosed his arrow, sighted at the target. Too low, it turned out, for while there was enough force to it, the arrow embedded itself in the turf a few feet before the target. "Well," he said, trying not to be embarrassed.

[Dymphna]

Dymphna started giggling sheepishly at their responses to her obvious lack of skill. There was, of course, the burn of not being any good, but she had been through enough in her life to realize that this sort of thing took practice. There really was no such thing as a natural, even if she had grand fantasies that one day she’d find something that she could just pick up and do perfectly the very first time. “How much do I have to correct for the wind?” she asked, puzzling over the question. It seemed it would be important to know that sort of information. She stood, watching Sam’s luck being almost as good as her own, then turned her eyes to Arand’s arrow in the target. She hoped that there would be more experienced archers on the Hunt, or they were all going to be in trouble… With a little fumbling, she managed to get another arrow nocked onto her bow. First, though, the arrow dangled on the string and went sideways on its own accord before she struggled to get it properly placed. Eventually she did, though, and she carefully took aim. The string was pulled back… She aimed a little more. The string was released… She closed her eyes, afraid to see where the arrow had gone this time.

[Arand]

Something felt strange regarding Sam to Arand. There was a sense of hostility in the air and Arand had noticed it. Was Arand annoying the two of them? Was he being intrusive? No it couldn't be, they had asked him for help and he agreed, if he was being intrusive they brought it upon themselves. But still, Arand couldn't help but wonder what the problem was. He wasn't here to make enemies, especially when you have a minimal amount of friends. Dymphna asked a question regarding the wind and Arand was forced to place the thought at the back of his mind for now.

"Well it depends on how much wind there is. On a day like today, well, I would probably just wait for the wind to die down. It seems to be on and off today. However if you are shooting in a storm, which i don't recommend, then you will have to aim the arrow much more to the left or right in order to compensate for higher winds. Really it's trial and error rather than knowing where to aim. You just have to continually be adjusting your shot."

Arand didn't mean to ramble on about how to properly aim an arrow. He was simply trying to help, after all, they had asked him for it.

And with that, the girl release her arrow.