Flashback What Perfection Demands

[Yvan]

70 Spring 496 AV

"Pick his feet up!" Ramsey waved.

Yvan gave his horse another kick to speed him up, once again stuck with the wayward and often lazy black horse by the name of Marlin who none of the other squires seemed to end up with during their training lessons. Yvan paced the horse, getting him to go from a brisk trot to a quick canter that saw him bounced up and down upon the saddle uncomfortable.
"Turn him!" The squire heard Ramsey bellow, and taking up the reins, he managed to ease the old stallion into a right hand turn.

The two of them returned to the starting line but didn't stop there as they usually did, instead carrying on towards the far wall where the archery targets were hung. Yvan lifted his crossbow and struggled to fix a bolt against the stock in time to raise, aim, and fire his weapon at this pace, all while keeping control of the horse.

The squire fixed the tail end of the crossbow against his shoulder in order to keep the heavy weapon steady, and tipped his head to peer down the sights, making sure the bronze nut that held the sting in place lined up with the sharp point of the bolt. His finger moved over the trigger and pulled back, the sting making a 'twang' sound as the bolt rushed from the keep and slammed into the wall a foot shy of the target.
"Concentrate!" Ramsey called, "that was terrible!"

Yvan sighed and cursed himself under his breath, leading Marlin back towards the start of the courtyard in order to try again. Practice makes perfect, everyone would always tell him, but they never said exactly how much practice perfection demanded. The tips of Yvan's fingers were red and sore from handling the tough string of the crossbow and he didn't know how much more of this he could take.

[Yvan]

"Get up!" The squire encouraged his mount, squeezing the animal's sides between his long, narrow legs in order to try and speed him up.
"Let the horse do his job and you focus on yours," Ramsey did his best to offer some words of encouragement, though they were about as gentle as a scalding cup of tea tipped out in one's lap.

Yvan made a clicking sound with his tongue that saw the stallion get up to speed again and as they rounded the marker Ramsey had set down near the starting line, the two of them raced towards the target once more. The boy didn't let his horse go any faster than a quick trot or canter, steering well clear of the galloping some of the older squires were capable of.

Again he readied his weapon, reaching back to take another bolt from his saddlebag in order to load the crossbow. The bolt went into the stock without too much trouble, Yvan's hands growing used to the motions he needed to make in order to see that the task was done quickly. He raised the weapon with a little effort and fixed it against his right shoulder, the up and down motion upon the saddle making it difficult to line up a good shot; it all came down to timing and experience.

As they neared the target, Yvan fingered the trigger and waited a split second, insuring that he was ready to make the shot before doing so. Upon release the bolt whizzed towards the target and struck just off centre, within one of the four inner rings. Surprised, Yvan shortened the reins and tugged firmly to get Marlin to come to a complete stop so that he could get a better look at the buried bolt.
"That's more like it!" Ramsey called from behind him and Yvan quickly turned his horse around and sped back to the fence line.

[Yvan]

"I think you're ready," Ramsey grinned.
"For?"
"A field trip."
Yvan felt his stomach flip, "outside the gates?"
"Where else?" Ramsey smirked and plodded over to his mount, a stunning Nightwalker with a coat the colour of charcoal.

Together the two of them rode south of the city, beyond the gates and out into the lush, green pastures. Yvan, white knuckled and nervous, held on to the reins as tightly as he could as Ramsey's horse cantered through the long grass for a chime before picking up the pace. A worried little sound escaped Yvan as Ramsey ordered him to keep up and Marlin under order of his boot, raced forwards into an exhilarating gallop that saw the young squire close his eyes, holding on for dear life.
"Right!" Ramsey called.

Yvan, forced to do something other than freeze up like a panicked goat, pulled on the reins lightly to steer his horse right and Ramsey's mount followed suit. The two of them rode on for a half mile before Yvan lost his nerve and slowed his horse to a much more bearable canter.
"Over there, look!" Ramsey pointed, and up on the rise, Yvan spotted a young deer, a buck that looked to be only two summers old, "load your bow," Ramsey ordered, and with shaky hands, Yvan did as he was told.

The buck heard them long before they were in shooting range, at least as far as Yvan's skill would allow, and begrudgingly, the squire was forced to speed his horse up again in order to cover ground quickly enough to keep up with the fleeing animal. As they got closer, the boy noticed Ramsey load his own crossbow, and not willing to let the knight have all the fun, Yvan raised his weapon to take a shot. He checked the sights and waited until the buck was air-born, leaping over a small stream, before he pulled the trigger.

His bolt missed by a mile and the knight at his left laughed before racing ahead to try his own luck, catching the Buck in his left, hind leg. The animal kicked and zigzagged with panic, slowed but was not quite defeated by the strike, "quickly!" Ramsey waved, "take another shot!"

[Yvan]

Yvan shortened the reins and urged Marlin on with a swift nudge to his sides to see that they caught up before fumbling with the crossbow. The buck sprang off to the right then just as the squire was loading his crossbow, and was forced to turn his horse sharply in order to keep on track. Marlin seemed to know what he should be doing for the most part, but was distracted by the sounds and closeness of the horse following behind him.

The boy dropped his bolt and was forced to reach back for a second before loading it against the stock again, in which Ramsey had managed to take another shot at the deer, only this time he missed. Yvan raised his weapon, determined to show his patron that he could keep up, and balanced the crossbow back against his shoulder as he tipped his head to look down the sights. The buck was within range and when the boy finally took the shot, pulling back on the trigger when the animal ahead of him leapt up, the bolt whizzed forwards and struck the deer in the shoulder, causing him to stop and turn as if to fight an invisible foe.
"Stay on your horse! Ride on!" Ramsey coached, "you don't want him going for you or your mount while he's still got his strength, race on and turn back to take the last shot."

[Yvan]

Ever trusting in his teacher's lessons, Yvan went on, followed closely by the patron knight, who didn't want to hang back in fear that he might accidentally stumble in front of the novice's shot. Once the boy felt he had range enough, he slowed his horse by tugging on the reins gently, and eased him into another graceful turn before speeding up again with a hiss and a roar.

Marlin surged ahead while Yvan loaded his crossbow, fixing the bolt into place in record time before turning the weapon on the buck. He heaved it up against his shoulder and took aim, recalling everything the knight had taught him; take your time, breathe, line the nut up with the point of the bolt, and ease your finger onto the trigger before pulling back. Finally ready, Yvan released the string by pressing down hard on the trigger and the bot flew straight, darting by the deer to miss by half a foot as the animal skipped aside.

Ramsey's shot was not quite as unlucky, and slowly but surely, the deer buckled forwards and went down on his knees.
"Now!" Ramsey ordered and brought his horse to a skidding halt in order to climb down and run towards the wounded animal.

Yvan pulled hard on the reins to stop Marlin and slipped from the saddle, running as fast as his heavy armour would allow, to catch up with the knight. Ramsey had taken the buck by his antlers and held his head back.
"Take the hunting knife from my belt, cut down his neck, reach into his chest at the base of the neck and stab the heart."
Yvan, who had never cut into a live deer before, took the knife and hesitated, "quickly!" Ramsey scolded, "Hesitation can mean the difference between life and death!"

The boy did as he was told, cut down the length of the deer's neck and reached into the open wound with the knife to stab the heart. A gush of blood painted his boots red and the buck made haunting sound, opening his mouth to hang out his tongue as the light in his eyes dimmed before they finally closed.

[Konrad Venger]

Nice job! Your work has pleased The Sloth! Yvan XP: Riding - 4 Crossbow - 3 Observation - 2 Hunting - 1 Lore: Marlin: A Squire's Mount Riding: Let the Horse do it's Job Crossbow: Draw, Nock, Aim and Fire Hunting: Finishing Prey Quickly Additional: +5 Shield Points for training with your patron Click Me! : Ah, spicing things up a little! Nice to see Ser Ramsey mixes things up to get the most from his squires. Kudos in not taking it easy on yourself, either. Oh, and please make sure you go back and edit your post in the Request Thread to reflect the fact this one is now done and dusted. PM me with any questions and later 'tater!