16th of Summer, 519 AV
Thunder Bay
Thunder Bay
Thuma (Nari)(Common) | Shathisae | Yania (Nari)(Common)
"Relax your grip," Yania whispered, and Thuma let go of the white-knuckle grip she had on her bow, lightly touching her thumb and middle finger together. They were in the forest a mile or so off the shore of Thunder Bay and had been stalking a spotted raccoon, one of the largest animals seen so far this season. Yania had snagged a few hares in the morning, and Shathisae was still out fishing in the bay. Usually during hunting stays in Thunder Bay, Thuma would spend much of the time digging various shellfish out of the sand on the shore, foraging for nuts and berries, or being shown different survival techniques by their Flightleader, Yanna. Yania was persistent today that she start getting better at using her bow. If not for hunting, then at least for some self-defense. Yania couldn't always be there.
Thuma double-checked that her stance was correct, feet facing toward the animal and not parallel to it. Faced at a 45-degree angle. She inhaled and extended her bow arm toward the target, pulling the string back toward her face.
"Anchor," Came Yania's whispered reminder, and Thuma pressed the index finger of her string hand into the corner of her mouth. Keeping her aim, as she exhaled she released the two fingers holding the string and let the arrow fly. She felt her fingers pluck the string as she let go and knew even before the arrow glanced off a tree and harmlessly into the forest that she was going to miss the shot. The raccoon, spooked by the noise, dashed away with a squeak.
Thuma sighed and silently cursed herself. She kicked a large rock in frustration and immediately regretted it as pain shot through her toes.
"You didn't follow-through." Yania stated matter-of-factly, standing from her crouch behind an overripe elderberry bush whose fruit was mostly gone. Either having fallen onto the ground or been eaten by wild fauna. It was strange, as Thuma recalled elderberry bushes don't ripen until the end of Summer, and should only be in their flowering stage now.
"I knew the shot would miss, it didn't matter." Archery wasn't second nature for Thuma, the way it was for Yania. Yania didn't have to think about proper stance, to relax her grip, to anchor, to release without plucking the string, to follow-through. She was fast, and fierce, with a longbow. She would've hit that coon two ticks after spotting it without batting an eyelash.
"You always follow-through, no matter what. Get into the habit now," Her sister said, annoyed, which in turn annoyed Thuma. She wasn't trying to be a terrible hunter, she was just out of practice and needed more time.
"You could stand to have a little more patience, I'm doing my best," Thuma said, placing her bow on her back and turning to gather her lost arrow. She was determined to kill the raccoon out of sheer spite, "Remember, the greatest warriors are patience and time." Thuma called over her shoulder, quoting their archery teacher.
"We do not have the luxury of patience and time!" Yania shot back. Thuma stopped and turned back around to face her, "Where are all the animals, Thum? You must have seen an abundance of them with that attitude. Nothing is where it should be! I saw a pack of spotted deer on the mountain range, they don't climb that high! The skygoats calved in the middle of the winter. Shathisae had to go miles out into Storm Bay to find any whales. Nothing is right!" The hunter was red-faced, her brows scrunched in anger. Thuma rocked back on her heels a little bit at the outburst. She wanted to get mad too, yell at her sister to make herself feel better. But what would she say? Sorry, that there aren't any animals around? Demand that she be the one doing the hunting if she didn't want to be missing any shots? No, getting angry back would accomplish nothing, and would only cause tension between them.
"It's too hot to argue like this, Yani. I know hunting has been more frustrating lately. And with the beast still out there, killing any hunters unlucky enough to come across it, I'm more terrified than ever to be on hunting duty." Thuma tried to reason with her,"Let's just... find that raccoon. I'll try harder this time." Yania's shoulders relaxed a little but she kept the glare. She harrumphed and marched off into the trees, not stopping to see if Thuma was following.
Thuma inhaled deeply, closing her eyes, and let the air out slowly, attempting to center herself. When she opened her eyes, she went after her sister, snatching the arrow off the ground as she went. The arrowhead had come off of the shaft. Thuma tsked in annoyance and shoved the two pieces into her quiver then jogged to catch up with Yania.
Thuma double-checked that her stance was correct, feet facing toward the animal and not parallel to it. Faced at a 45-degree angle. She inhaled and extended her bow arm toward the target, pulling the string back toward her face.
"Anchor," Came Yania's whispered reminder, and Thuma pressed the index finger of her string hand into the corner of her mouth. Keeping her aim, as she exhaled she released the two fingers holding the string and let the arrow fly. She felt her fingers pluck the string as she let go and knew even before the arrow glanced off a tree and harmlessly into the forest that she was going to miss the shot. The raccoon, spooked by the noise, dashed away with a squeak.
Thuma sighed and silently cursed herself. She kicked a large rock in frustration and immediately regretted it as pain shot through her toes.
"You didn't follow-through." Yania stated matter-of-factly, standing from her crouch behind an overripe elderberry bush whose fruit was mostly gone. Either having fallen onto the ground or been eaten by wild fauna. It was strange, as Thuma recalled elderberry bushes don't ripen until the end of Summer, and should only be in their flowering stage now.
"I knew the shot would miss, it didn't matter." Archery wasn't second nature for Thuma, the way it was for Yania. Yania didn't have to think about proper stance, to relax her grip, to anchor, to release without plucking the string, to follow-through. She was fast, and fierce, with a longbow. She would've hit that coon two ticks after spotting it without batting an eyelash.
"You always follow-through, no matter what. Get into the habit now," Her sister said, annoyed, which in turn annoyed Thuma. She wasn't trying to be a terrible hunter, she was just out of practice and needed more time.
"You could stand to have a little more patience, I'm doing my best," Thuma said, placing her bow on her back and turning to gather her lost arrow. She was determined to kill the raccoon out of sheer spite, "Remember, the greatest warriors are patience and time." Thuma called over her shoulder, quoting their archery teacher.
"We do not have the luxury of patience and time!" Yania shot back. Thuma stopped and turned back around to face her, "Where are all the animals, Thum? You must have seen an abundance of them with that attitude. Nothing is where it should be! I saw a pack of spotted deer on the mountain range, they don't climb that high! The skygoats calved in the middle of the winter. Shathisae had to go miles out into Storm Bay to find any whales. Nothing is right!" The hunter was red-faced, her brows scrunched in anger. Thuma rocked back on her heels a little bit at the outburst. She wanted to get mad too, yell at her sister to make herself feel better. But what would she say? Sorry, that there aren't any animals around? Demand that she be the one doing the hunting if she didn't want to be missing any shots? No, getting angry back would accomplish nothing, and would only cause tension between them.
"It's too hot to argue like this, Yani. I know hunting has been more frustrating lately. And with the beast still out there, killing any hunters unlucky enough to come across it, I'm more terrified than ever to be on hunting duty." Thuma tried to reason with her,"Let's just... find that raccoon. I'll try harder this time." Yania's shoulders relaxed a little but she kept the glare. She harrumphed and marched off into the trees, not stopping to see if Thuma was following.
Thuma inhaled deeply, closing her eyes, and let the air out slowly, attempting to center herself. When she opened her eyes, she went after her sister, snatching the arrow off the ground as she went. The arrowhead had come off of the shaft. Thuma tsked in annoyance and shoved the two pieces into her quiver then jogged to catch up with Yania.
