No Place Like Home

[Ixzo]

78th of Winter, 515AV

"I want this one." The words, finally, could be spoken. With a little too much excitement, she plucked the bow from its case. The hard pink wood of the rainforests she called home called to her, and she was sure she would not put it down now.

"That one?" Expensive taste. He commented, and Ixzo shrugged.

"Seventy-five?" She asked, she had had her eye on it for too long, the price didn't surprise her. The Drykas' lip puckered, but he only nodded. Fishing the coins from her purse, she counted them out to him, never so excited to give away her gold.

"You want to at least try it out before you buy it?" Insurance, familiarity.

Yes. She complied, not because she wasn't sure, but because she couldn't wait to do it.

"Arrows are only a gold." He offered, placing a bundle in her hand as well. She took them gratefully, giving him the other coin.

Following the man over to the target range, she took a moment to test the string of her bow. She likely should have done it before she bought it, but at this point, she didn't care enough. Her heart was racing with excitement when she lined up her feet. Even after so many seasons, the form came back to her very naturally. The tilt of the bow, the pull of the string, even when her knuckles rested against her face, it felt natural.

Her shot, not so much.

When the arrow hit the target, angled on the very end. She could see the head sticking out of the other side, and cringed at the shot. She was better than that.

[Ixzo]

The Drykas snorted, and the corner of her lip curled in anticipation of a snarl that she did not let show. Disrespect would get her in trouble she wasn't looking forward to dealing with. Instead the lioness took two deep breaths and raised her arrows again. To give herself a better stance, she stood up straight, able to shoot straight to the target. This time, it dug deep into the line that ringed closest to the bullseye. Looking for the horse-lord to take back his snort, she shot him a look of anticipation. He had something in his hand.

"Do you shoot birds?"

"Mostly chimps or pigs." She confesses, slipping the Myrian word in, since she didn't know the Pavi equivalent.

"What and pigs?" Ixzo picked out three arrows, lining them up with her bow, and lined up another shot.

"Rainforest… animals." She tried to explain, distracted, hoping he would drop it. She was more inclined to explain what a monkey was to Iollu, not this man.

This time, her shot was farther out, but she didn't cringe this time. Twisting one of the arrows in her left hand, she pulled it back, letting it fly as well. The last arrows shot as well. Not to her surprise, they were fairly precise. She still had to work on accuracy, she always had to work on accuracy, but at least her precision was admirable.

"Here." She hadn't noticed that the Drykas had been fiddling with something until he held up a cloth sack. She looked at it quizzically while he tossed it around in the air above him. "Shoot." He commanded, and when he threw the sack, she reacted.

[Ixzo]

As quickly as she could, she pulled one more arrow out from the bundle, pulling it back and letting it fly. She had been to late and the ball hit the ground, as her arrow flew past the target.

"Once more?" She asked, pulling out four arrows. She aligned three with the bow, and strung one, waiting. He had two more balls, and although she was already not on the best relations with this Drykas, he seemed willing enough to let her practice. A grin flashes across her face when he switched one to the right hand.

As soon as he threw it,. Ixzo followed the ball with her arrow. This time she didn't shoot immediately, waiting until the ball had peaked its curve and begun to fall down. Then she let an arrow fly. The ball jerked backwards, clearly hit, although it seemed her arrow merely nicked it. The ball fell to the ground, and her arrow lodged itself in the grass a few yards away. For no good reason, she flipped another bow into position, pulling it back and letting it lodge itself into the ball that was already on the ground.

"You gotta shoot it in the air. Birds will keep going once you shoot them, if you don't get them in the head or the wing." He added the tip in, and she considered it. She would think the bird would go down immediately, although he was clearly more experienced than her, so she simply put away this information, hoping to use it for hunting.

[Ixzo]

"One more time." He allowed, not giving her a chance to prepare before tossing his last cloth ball up into the air. She pulled an arrow back, with only one left aligned with her bow. Taking a deep breath, she prepared to shoot just as the ball it is' peak. This time, when the ball flew back, carried by her arrow, both it and the arrow dug into the hard grass a few yards away.

"Not bad, not bad." Good bow. He added the sign, likely to invalidate her competent shots. She wasn't the best, but at least she could hit a moving target… after a few tries. Ixzo grimaced at the write-off, but didn't say anything. She still knew better than to piss of a Drykas.

"Bow is my… best… weapon." She offered, although not quite sure how that would help her case.

"Oh? Well you aren't much of a warrior if it is." This time Ixzo did snarl. The vibrations in her throat echoed past where he had turned to return to the tent, and panic seized her lungs when he stopped.

"Did you just--?" But then he was laughing. "Semele's stone, you foreigners…" But he was laughing at her, which was somehow more degrading than him simply being rude. Ixzo huffed, turning to scoop up her arrows from where they lay scattered in and around the target. She inspected them briefly, fitting them back into the bundle before returning to the tent.

He had finally calmed down when she entered, the coins in his palm had disappeared into some coin purse. Deciding to ignore him for a moment, she tucked the bundle of arrows under her arm, disappearing behind a rack of knives. One in particular caught her eye, and she picked up the angle knife, the long blade protruding to the side insead of the front. It intrigue her, and she immediately thought of the use paired with her bow. Should she be pressed for close contacts, although still possible with her bow, the knife could be used in the same hand with little issue.

A few chimes later, Ixzo's hands were full, pressed with two new tomahawks and the angle knife. The scabbards and stones and oils for caring for them. She had always been an ambitious fighter, although perhaps her eyes were more eager as she faced the man.

He was a little grumpy still, and she gave him the coins for the price he told her with no issue, excited to learn her new weapons, Iollu will be excited.

[Jasmine Stormblood]

let me know if I missed anything

 

Ixzo

XP

• Socialization: 4 XP
• Weapon- Long bow: 4 XP
• Observation: 2 XP

Lores

• Ixzo: snarls when angry
• Angle Knife: blade points to the side
• Archery: aim for wing or head of birds
• Pavi: much easier when surrounded by it

Miscellaneous[list]