[Wind Reach] The Pointy End Goes That Way (Aidara & Sairque)

[Aidara]

"Well, obviously I am doing a lot wrong if you could notice mistakes while in the midst of wrapping yourself around my sister. I hope you didn't get her pregnant while you demonstrated your superior skill" The quip came out a littler harsher than Addy had intended, but not one to back down from the game, she quickly pulled her face into a scowl to match. Ignoring Kovac's close vicinity, Addy turned her attentions back to her bow and remaining arrows. Taking a deep breath, the healer tested her string before raising the bow directly in front of her. She pulled back a few times, testing the tension. The strain felt good in her shoulders, as she felt the individual muscles pull in protest. Drawing back a bit further, the pull extended from her shoulders to her back, and even to the muscles under her armpits. Huh. She really did need to stretch more. Maybe Sai wasn't so crazy for climbing all those cliffs. Her twin could pull back the string much easier than she could. With a twang, Addy let the empty string snap back into place, glad for her wrist protector when the string slapped it's repercussions against what would have otherwise been her unprotected skin. Juggling her bow between hands, Addy wiped her palms on the legs of her bryda when she realized how clammy they had become. "Alright Kovac. I guess I'll just fire away at will and you'll correct me as you see fit." Still playing hard to get, Addy didn't even look in the mans direction as she spoke. She know she'd have to goad him into any kind of action if he had Shyath waiting with a fist ready back at his jail cell..um, her Aerie. Bending down Addy plucked up the nearest arrow. This was quickly nocked as the woman brought the bow up and to shoulder height. Holding the fletching between her first and middle fingers, she tried to hold the arrow steady against the string as she started to draw back. Sighting down the shaft, it was hard to keep the pointy metal head in line with the center of the target. The further back the string went, the more her muscles strained and the waver of the arrow against the string increased. Finally, when her shoulders could take no more Addy stopped her draw. Here she paused, taking a deep breath and attempting to steady her hand. The arrows stopped it's little wobble and for a split second, it was aimed directly at the bulls eye. A sharp exhale coincided with the strings twang as it snapped back into position. Without lowering her bow or removing her hand from it's realease position near her ear, Addy watched with bated breath as her arrow flew.... and hit the ground directly in front of the target. "What the petch. I can normally hit the petching thing. Seriously?!" It was the frustration of multiple failures that bubbles forth now, not petulance. Anyone could see the sincere disapointment shining in her eyes. Turning to Kovac, Addy looked rather hurt. "If you laugh, I'll never forgive you." To Sai, "I'm seriously jealous of your bow arm. Can we go climbing? I think I can see the benefit of learning now, even if I'm not too fond of the heights." A weak, but pleasent attempt at a smile before the healers shoulders sagged a bit in defeat.

[Sairque]

Addy's words about pregnancy drew a sharp glance from the Endal, Sai lowering the bow and letting the string pull back to its rest position.

"I use protection, thank you very much," she deadpanned back. "I made him pull out." Without another glance, she turned back to her target and eyed the grouping.

It was horrible, just all over the place and the arrows hung at sad angles. During a break in action, she trotted down and retrieved the projectiles, even the ones that had completely missed and were now pretty useless due to cracked shafts. Returning to position, the dysfunctional pair to her side ignored, Sai concentrated on Kovac's instructions. Raise the elbow just a little, engage more back muscles, don't let the front shoulder roll or drop. With a clear picture in mind, muscles tingling from the concentration on what they were about to do, the petite red head lifted the bow. Arrow knocked, she drew, checking her elbow, flexing her back, shifting her leading shoulder until it felt correct.

Finally, one yellow eye peered down the shaft toward the target. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, hold, release. The bow snapped with a thwang, the string burning Sai's forearm when it brushed by. Wiggling her fingers by her ear, where they remained after releasing the string, she ignored the sensation on her other arm. It was just a reminder to check all form, not to forget the early lessons while working on new ones.

Catching the sound of a voice directed at her, Sairque glanced over at the instructor/pupil pair. A lopsided smile tugged at her lips and she lifted her right arm, flexing it; after the warm up of archery, her muscles cut fluid lines under her creamy skin and veins ran dark tunnels over them. Rotating her wrist and forearm, the muscles danced, but not as much as when she wiggled her fingers. Even falling within the average fitness level of Inarta, Sai felt pretty sexy with her young, firm body. But after a minute, the reasoning behind all three of them checking her out registered.

"At least your arrows point at the target, I think I might have managed to hit some kid back in the hallway," Sai gave a self-derisive snort and lifted her bow again. Drawing, she shifted her feet a bit to line up properly. Elbow adjusted, leading shoulder, rotate the forearm out of the way, feel the back, neck, and sight. Inhale, exhale, hold, release.

[Kovac]

A crooked grin slid across Kovac's face when Addy spouted her hard-edged jibe about he and Sai, breaking into laughter at the Rider's bawdy reply. The Avora shot a wide grin at the Endal, an offering of admiration for her sharp response to her sister's obviously jealous snipe. As the archer approached the healer, he snickered almost imperceptibly. "I could be humping an elk and see the mistakes you make with a bow." He shot back, meeting her alluring green eyes with his own. The game today was going to be one hard played by both parties. The Avora watched as the young woman warmed up with her bow, noting not only how she held the weapon, but the lean length of her arms as she did, and how her deep crimson mane flowed over her smooth, cream-colored shoulders. His grin widened. she had done something to make her naturally curly hair straight, which enhanced the appearance of the single, green ribbon-bound braid that dangled at the left side of her head. Kovac found the style attractive. He also found that his attention had wandered from the task at hand. "Fire away," he responded, arms still crossed over his bared chest, watching Addy nock, draw and release her first arrow...and seeing it fall short of the target. Her form truly was not terribly bad, but Kovac could see her muscles straining a bit at the full length of her draw. A clever, sarcastic comment was poised on the tip of his tongue, but it was immediately stifled when Addy turned her disappointed gaze to him and then to her twin. The archer turned also to look at Sairque, who was examining where her string had struck her forearm. The rider seemed caught up in flexing her muscles, which rippled with cut angles beneath her skin. Even though she was no less attractive then her Avora sister, Kovac had avoided flirting with the rider. Perhaps it was becuase of the tenuous interactions they had had in the past, or the fact that she was an Endal, or maybe she just seemed a lot to handle. It certainly was not because she was not pleasing to look upon. Sairque was fit indeed, even more so that Shayth, and he momentarily admired the attractive contour of the authoritative Endal's form. Egad, he was going to get in trouble one way or another. Pausing to watch Sai let off another shot, Kovac resumed his role as instructor. "Both of you need to work on gripping your bow. Look." The archer reached for his own short bow, placing the grip in his left hand and held it loosely. "Do not put a death grip on it." He demostrated, lifting the bow to the shooting position and tightening his hold on the bow. The weapon rotated ever so slightly. "Did you see that? Don't hold it tight, just let it rest between your thumb and forefinger and let the pull of the draw hold it there. That will also help prevent the string from sliding up your forearm." He drew back the string, his grip loosening until his thumb and fingers no longer overlapped. The teacher's eyes shifted from one student to the other, making sure they saw and understood. "Now, you two try." Setting his bow down, he returned to Aidara, standing behind her as he had her sister. "Now, wrap your hands around it and grip it softly, Addy." She could hear the broad grin in his voice as he delivered a decidedly suggestive instruction. Kovac's gaze darted to Sai, observing her hold on the bow, and offering her an ornery grin as well.

[Aidara]

"I never grip softly, and usually I don't have to use both hands." She snarked right back at him, though a smile twitched the corners of her lips. It was good advice, of course. He knew what he was doing, and Addy needed to improve her archery if she intended to be useful at all on hunts. Swallowing her pride and indignation was easier to do than she thought, though it all seemed to get stuck halfway down her throat. Metaphorically choking it all down, the healer took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Would you remind repeating that for me, concentrating this time on the wood in my hands and not in your pants. Thanks. And slower, it was a lot to take in this early in the morning." Addy watched carefully as Kovac demonstrated with his own short bow again. "I will try it your way.." She sounded a bit petulant again, "But I have a long bow. Does that make any difference at all, other than the size?" Addy completely expected another snarkity response from the Avora, though her question was a genuine one. She had never considered the difference in the bows before. Perhaps she was using the wrong one, and that was a leading cause in her failure. While waiting for Kovac's response, Addy readjusted her grip like he had shown her. But she was still holding on too tightly, as her knuckles were white as she gripped. Addy dropped her hand from the bow, shook it out and tried to wrap her fingers around the wooden part like she was shaking someones hand, not trying to strangle Silwyn. Sure enough, she noticed a difference in the way it felt as she held the bow up before her, as if ready to nock an arrow. "Huh. I'm suitably impressed. Loose the ball and chain and perhaps we can sleep together now." Smirking, Addy stooped to grab and arrow. Holding this in her right hand, she carefully readjusted her left again on the shaft the way Kovac had taught her. It was still taking some extra thinking to do so, since her instinct was to death grip it. Once she had her hands situated, she pressed the arrow against the string and set her sights on the target. Then she began to draw the way he had described. It didn't really make sense to the woman, and she kept fumbling it up, the arrow falling back to thud into the soft grass. Keeping a tight reign on her rising temper, more out of frustration than anything else, Addy tried multiple times until her fingers slid back the way Kovac's had. It all kind of made sense now. You had to finesse the arrow into doing what you wanted. The lighter the touch the better. She didn't have to hold tightly to the arrow either. That was what was preventing her from letting it fly appropraitly. Thrilled with the success of realizing her mistakes, Addy lifted her elbow one last time, putting the arrow against the string and sighting down it's shaft towards the bulls eye. She was going to hit it. She had too, she was on a ROLL! Taking a deep breath, Addy closed her eyes and drew the string back a little more. Wait...closing your eyes was a dumb idea. With her eyes snapping open, she took another deep breath and held it until she released the arrow, the string twanging against her wrist guard as the air rushed from her lungs. "AHHHHHHHHHH!" Came the shrill shout, as Addy watched her arrow fly straight and true...well, almost. It hit the target, just a handful of rings from the center. It was a vast improvement. Clutching her bow in both hands, she held it above her head and did a somewhat childish victory dance.

[Sairque]

A stray Inarta entered the range, took one look at Addy's...accuracy...and walked out. Sai bit back a snicker, restraining herself to a broad grin, humored not only by the obvious snub, which would have extended to herself as well if she hadn't been watching her twin, but also by the banter between her sister and Kovac. She knew what a penis was, and how it worked, but not from experience. She had to know, otherwise she couldn't make fun of boys and join in on ninety percent of conversations out there. "You want soft, Kovac, you'll be better off asking an falcon for a hand," she slid into the banter right before Addy answered, who then supported her retort. Kovac might find himself vastly outmatched by the twins that could read each other's minds...almost literally. As Addy tried out the new grip, Sai did the same. The bow felt better in her hand, more maneuverable and adjustable, like she could make minute changes in the blink of an eye. Having Kovac give them a lesson had been a good idea. Drawing the, an arrow knocked but with no intention of firing it, she experimented with the way the bow reacted to various degrees of grip. Finally settling on a mostly open grip, index finger lifted to steady the arrow, Sai went through her ritual once more, trying to train her muscles, and released. Addy was still dropping the arrow in the grass. Blinking, she shared a look with Kovac, wondering, not for the first time, how Addy had missed the instincts for this kind of stuff when their parents had doled them out. The elder twin even had a petulant little frown on her face, like she was going to snap and start smashing her bow into the ground at any given second. When she'd finally calmed and found a groove, Sai lifted her bow as well, keeping in time with the Avoran healer. Their bows released with a fraction of a second of each other, the thwang of the bowstrings meeting harmoniously. Sai did no better than Addy, and while the friendly twin celebrated, she headed back down the range to get their arrows. Feeling a bit chipper, and unable to not notice the straight, clear path down to the targets, the flight leader had the sudden urge to do cartwheels. Giving a small skip to build momentum, the limber girl threw herself forward, catching herself on her hands and spreading her legs to take her weight on the next way round. For her second wheel, between which there was no pause, she snapped her legs together, instead, and finished a round off. Feeling so good, and with so much perfectly aimed momentum, she continued back into a hand spring. Being upside, twirling through the air hadn't been a fearful sensation for several years, ever since she learned how much she loved free falling. And frankly, her meager height of 5'2, and whatever vertical her legs could produce, were by no means threatening. Arms well accustomed to exerting force equal and greater than her weight, easily caught and pivoted her. Why stop with just one? She managed another two before the antics were put to a stop by the dejected and sorely avoided healer's target. So she wasn't quite good enough to go in a straight line...or gauge distance very well. Groaning, Sai pushed herself off her head and thudded to the ground amongst several stiff and pointy shafts. An arm waved, thin and pale, above the tangle of arrows, target, and flesh. "Don't worry, guys, I have all the arrows! If only your shaft could get this stiff, Kovac, you'd be more appealing."

[Kovac]

Kovac found Aidara's raunchy attitude to be invigorating and entertaining, and he maintained his snarky grin, adorned every once in a while with a more suggestive glance. He laughed honestly at her jibes and tried to dish out his own. Sai's wit was sharp and no less welcomed, earning frequent nods and smiles of approval from Kovac. Once he had reviewed his latest lesson for Addy, he chuckled at her question about bows and the importance of size. He leaned in as if to share a dirty secret. "Darling, we both know size does matter!" he winked at her with a broad grin and leaned back. "Seriously, you should be able to use any size bow, as long as you can take full advantage of the length of the pull, which you are getting most of with your longbow. The true difference is in how you plan to use it. Longbows give you more power and distance. But they are more cumbersome. I chose a recurve short bow because it is easier handle in the woods, where long range is not as important. Also, it is easier to use from the back of an eagle. But in the open field, a longbow would have an advantage." Adaira seemed to get the feel for the adjustments she needed to make, seemingly pleased with the archer's tutelage. At her bawdy comment suggesting that if he dumped Shayth she would sleep with him, Kovac simply grunted and grinned. "More attention on the arrow's shaft and less on mine." He quipped as the girl struggled to keep the projectile against the bowstring, shooting a roguish grin at the Endal twin over his shoulder. Stepping back, the avora let Addy alone to make her shot. She took her time, kept her eyes opened and followed his instructions. It paid off as the arrow sank into the target with a respectable thunk. Kovac laughed, clapped once. He had heard Sairque release her bow as well, her arrow likewise striking the target. He lifted his voice. "There is hope for you two sorry archers yet!" Suddenly, Sai performed a series of gymnastic feats that truly impressed him. The flight leader often suprised him so, doing something out of character and forcing him to like her. But it only got better, totally endearing herself to him by colliding with Addy's target at the end of her stellar performance. Kovac burst into a loud guffaw, bending over with his hands on his knees. Sairque made a noble attempt to deflect the painful attention from herself with another insult aimed at his genitalia. "Maybe I just need something more alluring to aim it at!" Turning to Aidara, he grinned, stil chuckling. "I can see why she can't get a man to lie betwen those thighs."

[Aidara]

"Oh..." Addy looked a bit crestfallen at Kovac's words. "I guess I didn't do enough research before buying this thing..." The bow that the healer had so lovingly cared for prior to this lesson was held before her eyes, a look of mild disappointment and frustration creasing the lines of her face. The fact of the matter was that Addy had allowed herself to be swindled, as she now thought of it, by the man with a handsome face at the Market Booth all those months ago. "Damn. Maybe I can trade in for a smaller one." Seeing now that she played right into the man's hands, buying the most expensive bow, Addy lost all her enthusiasm for the practice. So much so that she let the raunchy banter that flowed so easily between the three companions fall. Instead, Addy watched her sister flip and cartwheel down the stretch of grass to retrieve their arrows. This did make the small woman smile. Her sister loved all that physical stuff, and the little spurts of intense enjoyment that flowed between the twins connection as Sai did her little acrobatics lightened Addy's mood a fraction. With the weight of the disappointment still heavy on her mind, Addy took the arrows Sai held out to her with a grim smile. "Can I try your bow please? I am no longer satisfied with my own and since I am going to be... exchanging this one, I'd like to try out some different ones." In fact, she planned on having very harsh words with the man who sold her the unsuitable bow. Holding out her hand to Kovac, Addy waited for the hunter to hand over his equipment. She didn't even process the idea that he might object (Men were funny like that sometimes. They didn't like their tools handled by others). However, Addy wasn't used to being denied what she wanted. So whether she just had to stand calmly, weedle or cajole, she was going to gain the use of Kovac's bow. Taking the smaller bow in hand, Addy tested the draw by holding the instrument up before her eyes in a mock shot, not having knocked an arrow. The pull of this string was strange, straining a different set of muscles in her arm. But it was well cared for and gently worn, though Addy had trouble fitting her hand in the smooth grooves left by Kovac's larger one. The string was released with a twang as the woman watched her inviable arrow soar across the space between her and the target. Of course in her mind, it was a bulls eye. She smiled. Turning to Kovac, mood lightening just a bit more, Addy held out her hand imperiously for an arrow while she spoke to her sister "Sai. Contest time! The one with the most arrows in the middle two rings gets to.... make Kovac to whatever the winner wants!" Out of the arrows that the Avora had undoubtedly handed to her by now, Addy split the group in half, handing six to her sister and keeping six for herself. "Only the six though." A little friendly competition between the sisters always made things quite a bit more interesting. But unfortunately for Kovac, he was stuck in a lose-lose situation, considering either twin winning didn't bode well for him. Taking the time to carefully stick the half dozen arrows tip down in the grass at her feet, Addy lined herself up with the target. She turned her body sideways, angling her hips and her shoulders so she could get the best angle for her towards the target. In a sudden, last minute decision, Addy tested the wind and compensated for the light breeze that ruffled her hair. "Ready?" She called, smiling now, towards her sister.

[Sairque]

Missing Kovac’s retort as Sai was actually doing something productive and resetting Addy’s target, as well as collecting all the arrows, the banter, sadly, went unanswered. Returning to the two, hair awry and a faint bruise appearing beneath her eye, the Endal handed off the arrows, keeping some for herself and returned to her lane. Grinning impishly, and then wincing as the motion upset her bruise, she nodded her agreement to the contest. “Go ahead and shoot all your arrows,” she insisted Addy go first, in the middle of rubbing at her sore shoulder. Trust the woman to challenge her right after she crashed into a heavy inanimate object. “I already know what I want Kovac to do,” the mussed Endal announced. “I’m going to have him take a group of junior riders out and give them a lesson on extended hunting trips.” Except, funny story, she didn’t have to win the contest for that. “And I’ll have to send you along, Addy, to keep him from playing too roughly with his snake and ending up comatose again. You really shouldn’t tease him like you did, we almost had to lug all our equipment and two bodies back by ourselves.” By this time, the elder twin had emptied her line and stared triumphantly as three of her arrows protruded proudly within the indicated circles. Sai flexed her shoulder, wincing a bit and started down toward the targets. Not even half a chime later, she’d won the contest with five of five sticking within her bullseye. Smirking, the rider returned to the pair from where she'd sauntered on down the range and stuck the arrows into the bullseye en masse. “When are you available, Kovac?” Just when it looked like she really was going to count this as a win, she chuckled and shook her head, dropping the gloating façade. “Nah, Addy, you win. I don’t want to draw again until this twinge goes away. Why don’t you see how well you’ll do, Kovac? Maybe from a greater distance to level the playing field?”

[Kovac]

Sairque returned, fist full of arrows, and a little worse for the wear. Kovac grimaced at the coloration of the bruise already rising on her cheek. He had actually contemplated making a sympathetic comment, but thought again. This was Sairque, Endal Flight Leader, who was reputed to chew up foreigners and spew them into a brass spittoon. She did not need his sympathy. Eh, he had seen Sai in many situations, and to be honest, she was not always as bad as her reputation made her out to be. He never revealed such to anyone though. Then Addy asked to use his bow. Kovac looked at Aidaira with a blank stare. She wanted to use his bow. Now one but he had ever used his bow. His father had made that bow. Ugh, those big bright green puppy dog eyes...who could resist them? Finally he sputtered. "Um, well, sure, alright." The archer held out the short bow tentatively, watching as the girl took the weapon in her hand and tested it. His look of concern turned to one of anxiety as Addy challenged her sister to a contest, one in which he was most likely to be the ultimate loser. "Whoah, wait!" He protested, but to no avail, as the twins continued with their game, ignoring him as if he were a dog sitting between them. Sai, back to her sadistic self, proclaimed the prize she would have. It was intentionally cruel, he believed, convinced again that she never did like him. "Ugh, are you kidding? overnight with mini-endal's and their giant child egos? You will have to send your sister just to keep me from lacing my own teeth with poison and biting myself!" However, the complaining avora did not quash the contest, playing the willing sport, for, inside, he knew Sai thought he was a whining, lazy hound and for some reason he wanted to dispel that perception. With folded arms Kovac watched the red-headed twins release their arrows, both actually doing well. He had wished to hear Aidara's plans if she would win, hoping it involved less juvenile riders and more adult content, but he was not provided that boon. In the end, and with no surprise, Sairque won. But, in a show of grace, the rider conceded to her sister. There was no doubt, however, that Sai was going to order Kovac to conduct the long training hunt anyway. He glanced at Addy, wondering if she would accept the win, and if she would hold him to anything for it. Then the rider offered him the same challenge, and the archer readily agreed. "Alright, I will take my turn as well, and you two may choose the distance. But, I too should have a reward if I do well...what shall that be?" Kovac grinned, wiggling his eyebrows

[Aidara]

"Mud wrestling" Came the prompt response, as Addy flashed her sister a grin and a congratulatory bow for winning the contest. Of course she had won, but the small woman was far past letting something like that get to her. She knew how to lose with good grace. "Here." Kovac's bow was pushed back into his chest, where she then gently wrapped his arms around the weapon to simulate holding a small child "In the same condition in which you lent it to me. See? Sharing isn't too bad." It was her turn to collect the arrows. Waving everyone to stay where they were, Addy trotted down the range and carefully extracted the arrow's from their target. One, shot by her sister, gave her a fair amount of trouble. Unable to gently pry it free, Addy gave a hard, frustrated tug. This landed her on her butt with only the arrow shaft in her hands. "Greeeeeat." Picking herself up and dusting herself off, the healer trotted back to her two waiting companions. "I uh, broke one." A sheepish smile. "Kay, so I think Kovac should stand here." Moving directly from her own mistake into the mans suggestion that they should position him, Addy took a half a dozen steps back from where the twins had just stood to shoot. "That seems fair, right?" However, she sent a strong feeling of playfulness along their bond, she intended her sister to get the hint that they weren't going to let him get off that easily. But it didn't hurt to get his hopes up a little, did it?