Solo Hitting the Mark

[Waisana]

23rd Summer 516AV

Waisana had managed to get some time to herself in the evening, a request that was gladly fulfilled although it earned her some surprised looks. The Opal teen was a known workaholic and she'd never been known to cut back on her duties for personal time. The notion that she was leaving and wouldn't be going to visit some patient or other was unfathomable for many of her colleagues that knew her. Some had been curious as to what she was doing and judging by some of the careful questioning she underwent, some wondered if she was finally courting someone with the intention of marrying. When she met inquiries with the reply that she was going to practise archery, it led to some very amusing reactions. It was entertaining trying to decide if they were more surprised by the fact that she was showing dedication to a weapon or that she had a life outside of patients and the River Flower.

Now as she moved through the Warstorm Pavilion with her long bow in hand, she felt far more confident than she had when she'd first entered it a number of days ago. She wasn't as concerned by the curious looks, she knew where she was going and while the bow she held wasn't an extension of her hand, she didn't want to hold it at arm's length anymore. She was still somewhat wary of the weapon of course and she had good reason to be given the shadow of a bruise that remained on her forearm from the strikes she'd received from the string. Now at least, the doctor knew how to use it although there was definitely room for improvement and lots of it. After her last session, not only had her bruise ached but also the muscles of her arms, her shoulders and some of those in her back. When the teen had contemplated the drawbacks of using a weapon, she most certainly hadn't factored in the notion that her muscles would scream at her in pain. Considering the necessary exertion, it was unsurprising that it had taken such a toll on her and she really should have had an idea that drawing and firing a bow was going to strain some uncommonly used muscles. Doing some sort of exercises to strengthen the muscles was a possibility she supposed but she didn't know how to go about doing such things and they would be time-consuming. It probably made more sense for her to continue using her bow and allow the muscles to develop accordingly.

As the blonde entered the range, she found it a lot busier than when she'd last been here and that made things a little daunting as she sought for an open lane for her to practise her shooting. The white that she wore made her stick out and so when she heard someone call her name, she wasn't surprised that he'd managed to spot her. Once she'd spotted him, she approached the place where he was shooting.

"Alero!" Greetings. Good to see you again. "So I have come back to make a fool of myself," she explained with a shy smile as her gaze flickered between the man who had taught her how to shoot and a young woman at his elbow. She'd been shooting beside him but now she looked at Waisana appraisingly. This woman was muscular and had a hardness to her face that made her age difficult for the teen to determine as she peered at her. Whoever she was to Alero, she appeared to be a member of the Watch and judging by the confidence with which she held her long bow, she didn't require any tutoring.

"I am glad that you came again. This is Aleanna. Aleanna, this is Waisana. I taught her how to shoot. Now she's back," the man declared with a grin and a chuckle. Aleanna gave her another critical look before she gazed straight into the doctor's face.

"Are you any good?" the woman questioned bluntly.

The teen flushed and shook her head.

Awful. "I'm lucky that I can hold it without dropping it," she responded.

Alero laughed heartily and clapped a hand to her shoulder with such force that she wobbled on the spot.

"She is not as bad as that! She must learn, yes, but she did manage to shoot." You show. Question.

The blonde swallowed hard and looked uncertainly between the man and his companion. He stepped aside to allow her to use the space he'd been using and she stepped forward hesitantly. Aleanna stood with her arms folded and one hip cocked out as she observed Waisana's movements and the girl was glad to have the opportunity to turn her back on the woman because she stood on Waisana's left. The girl stood perpendicular to the target and spaced her feet carefully. This was the only thing that she felt truly confident about as she had made note of the way her feet needed to be shoulders' width apart and she shuffled them away from one another, taking her time to settle into position. Alero smiled encouragingly and handed her an arrow. She found that her hands were beginning to tremble and so she fumbled it and it landed on the ground. She bent to collect it and her face was aflame as she heard a snort from behind her, realising that Aleanna was laughing at her. The girl placed the shaft of the arrow against the string and slipped it into the groove on the bow. Once it was nocked, she twisted the arrow so that one vane faced away from the string while the other two were parallel. Placing one finger above the vanes and two below them, she gripped the arrow tightly as she tugged the string back a little to make it taut.

Focusing on her posture, she ensured that her back and legs were straight as she raised the bow and began the process of drawing the string back to the right position. She got it back to her cheek and continued to cling to the end of the arrow as she tried to aim at the target's centre, hoping to shoot well and not embarrass herself. The tension of it set her arms trembling and afraid that Aleanna would see the shaking in the extended arm that held the bow, Waisana released it. Whether it was the string or the friction created by the passing vanes of the arrow, the doctor's fingers burned and she pulled them back a little fast, hissing in pain as she did so. The arrow managed to cross the distance but her movement to escape pain had affected its flight and so it struck the ground below the target and jutted from the earth at a slanted angle.

"You are right. You are awful," Aleanna commented sneeringly and Waisana saw the glare Alero shot at her over the doctor's shoulder. He smiled sympathetically at the blonde but his body also read apology as if he was somehow accountable for the other woman's behaviour.

"You just need to get into it again. Don't hold the arrow tightly." Be careful. Again. He held another arrow at to her and she took it gingerly in her burning fingers.

[Waisana]

The blonde glanced uncertainly between the man and the woman before she did as Alero said and tried again. She took up a firm stance, straightened her back and kept it that way as she drew the string back slightly, raised the bow and tugged the string back to its full stretch. As her arms worked to hold the arrow in place, the doctor took the time to mentally assess her posture. She concentrated on moving her shoulders down while she remained standing straight and adjusted the position of the elbow of her drawing arm, moving it a little higher, ensuring she kept only a light hold at the fletching, before she focused on aiming. She aimed for the centre and then took a few deep breaths as she talked herself through each step in her head. She let out a breath and let the arrow fly, telling herself to continue holding the bow straight, to keep moving her drawing arm back, to hold her position until long after the arrow had shot and the string snapped back into its normal location. This shot worked out a lot better than the previous one as she managed to remain calm and unhurried, not allowing her audience to affect her confidence. This time, the missile struck the target and while it wasn't a bull's eye, she was happy to say that it wasn't too far off one.

She met Alero's smile with a smile of her own before looking to Aleanna for her judgement. The Watchwoman looked thoughtful and Waisana was unsure whether to wait for woman's opinion or just continue with her shooting. The teen reached for another arrow and began to prepare herself again when the other spoke.

"You should shoot faster. It is easier if you draw and then shoot very soon afterwards," she commented, as Waisana turned to face her once more. "You cannot aim for that long. If you were out in the grass, you would not have that time." Danger. Defence. Fast. Difference between life and death.

The Opal clanswoman chewed her lip, uncertain if she should do as she'd been told or continue in the way Alero had shown her. It was true that she would need to be able to react quickly if she ever had need of the weapon but for now she was only learning. Surely, she didn't expect Waisana to be able to do everything at once! The man made a scoffing noise and the teen found herself in the middle of a disagreement that became gradually more and more heated as each tried to put their opinion forward as the only correct one. Alero was of the same opinion as Waisana that speed would come later after much practice, whereas Aleanna thought it was a good habit to form early. She found herself being swayed by the woman's arguments and as they worked up to shouting at one another, she raised her hands and held up one to each of them.

"Peace! You are arguing like children," she scolded them, some of the authority she was used to wielding entering her tone. Both looked taken aback by the force in her voice but they did as they were told, appearing somewhat sheepish. "I will do as Aleanna says. I think it is a good habit as she says." Wise advice. It is a fool that does not do as he is told, she signed out the proverb and was met with nods of agreement from the other two before Alero gestured for her to continue. So speed was of the essence now it seemed. Perhaps if she didn't hold the bow steady for as long as she had been doing before taking her shots, her arms would not tire as fast. She certainly hoped so because the aching of her muscles and the fatigue after her last session was not something she wished to repeat.

Waisana readied another arrow and tried to nock it quickly. This turned out to be a bad plan as the projectile flipped point upwards into the air and the teen only avoided having injury done by quickly ducking her head out of the way. The girl decided that she wasn't quite ready for doing that but fast and so she retrieved the arrow and took her time nocking it, focusing on her posture before she even considered raising and drawing the bow. When the doctor was ready to draw the bow, she steeled herself mentally and physically before raising the bow. Dragging the string back, she allowed it to hover by her cheek long enough for her to twitch the bow in a new direction before she released it and sent it flying. It hit the very top of the target. She scowled at it before she took another arrow. She repeated the process, except this time she twitched the bow downwards when she took quick aim and when the missile struck, it hit the target below the bull's eye. A marked improvement. It could have been a fluke though and so she had to shoot again and again, her arms gradually beginning to ache.

[Waisana]

As the teen continued to work on her archery, she found that some things were becoming easier. She still had to concentrate on her posture, as when she tried to do things too quickly, she found naturally taking up a position that had her facing the target instead of standing perpendicular to it. However, it became easier and easier to nock an arrow. She couldn't do it without looking as many of those shooting in the range seemed to be able to do but she was becoming far less clumsy in her execution. Waisana would look down, place the shaft in the groove on the bow, turn it so that two vanes were parallel with the string and the other jutted out and then place it against the string. It seemed the easiest way to go about doing it and while she wasn't as quick as others, she had improved on her initial speed. The arrow was only fumbled and dropped one time out of ten and the girl could say that she was happy about that.

The doctor concentrated on standing correctly, turning ever so slightly at the waist as she stood in the shooting stance and nocked an arrow. She attempted to draw and raise the bow at the same time but the pressure and tension was immense. The strength needed to do both at the same time just didn't seem to be in her muscles and they screamed that fact at her as soon as she tried it. She strained to try it for a few moments and then simply raised it after pain crackled through her arm muscles. Raising and then drawing was considerably easier. The string pulled against her but she bent it to her will, aiming briefly before she allowed it to have its own way as she let it whip forwards, propelling the missile through the air to thunk into the bull's eye. The girl moved her arm backwards to finish the draw and when she realised where it had hit, the bow slipped from her hands to land on the ground. Flabbergasted, she turned her attention to first Alero and then Aleanna.

I did it. "I didn't think that it would hit the centre but it did," she announced in amazement, the signs and words leaving her sluggishly as her brain failed to process the surprise occurrence. The woman from the Watch laughed openly at her amazement and the man grinned at her; the teen blushed.

"You must do it again and again. It is not so shocking." Luck. Fluke, Aleanna commented. "How about a challenge? Shoot like that five more times and I will take back what I said about you being awful at this."

The blonde made a show of considering the other's offer although she had already made up her mind to accept. She didn't need the other woman to validate her abilities; Waisana could see her own progress and was pleased with it. However, while Aleanna's praise was not something she craved, she would take pleasure in making the woman eating her words, especially considering that she had laughed at the Opal girl. It hadn't been kind or fair to do such a thing and so Waisana found herself desiring that small measure of revenge. She signed her agreement and the woman gestured towards the target, encouraging her to begin.

The doctor regarded the target thoughtfully, wondering how she could replicate what she'd just achieved. She had no idea how to make it happen. She didn't even know if there was a way for her to guarantee a repeat of the shot once more, let alone another five times. All she could do was try. How many shots had she taken since she'd started learning to use the long bow? Out of all those shots, she'd only managed to hit one bull's eye. The chances of hitting another five were so slim that she couldn't even picture it happening; she'd be quite pleased if she could just manage one.

Determined to hit that small segment on the target, she marched up to it and pulled the arrows from it. Each one was wiggled so that the heads came away free and intact. She came back with the missiles and retrieve her bow to fire them when Aleanna intervened.

"Are you not going to check them?" Any damage?

Waisana regarded her blankly and the Watchwoman rolled her eyes skywards, gesturing for her to hand them over. The girl passed them across uncertainly. Watching as the other, felt along the shaft. She indicated that Waisana should look closely, talking with her hands to explain what she was doing before she demonstrated it.

Press. "Search for cracks in the wood. Check fletching." Like this. Watch.

The other woman rested one finger beneath the shaft of the arrow as she pressed along its length with her thumb. She carried the task out quickly, showing that it was something at which she was well practiced. She twisted the shaft so that she could check along the length again. Waisana watched the process repeated until the full length had been checked. She wiggled the arrow head to see if it came loose and ran her thumb gently along the fletching. When she'd completed the checks, she handed one arrow to the doctor and indicated that she should do the same. It quickly became apparent that she would have to check each arrow before she could receive a new one. The teen went along with what the other wanted, following the procedure that she'd just been shown, albeit at a much slower pace. She squeezed the wood and looked for cracks or splits, surprised to find that the material seemed to bend ever so slightly under pressure. Flexibility in the shaft made sense but she simply hadn't thought about it before. Her thumb ran over small knots and shallow dimples that marked its surface but there was no damage visible. Turning the arrow, the checking was repeated and done again as it was turned once more. When the shaft was deemed safe, she pressed in and around the arrow head, giving the tip a light tug to see if it was loose or wobbly. Lastly, the fletching was neatened with her thumb and checked for... well, she wasn't quite sure what she was looking for if she was being honest. However, as she moved through arrows, she discovered that the fletching sometimes became damaged, with parts missing from the feathers or the feathers become bent out of shape to a point where it couldn't be remedied. She did find two arrows that had hairline cracks in the wood near the tip but they didn't widen under pressure, merely showing up against the surface. Aleanna allowed her to keep those ones but when Waisana found one that gaped a little in the middle of the shaft, it was instantly discarded.

When the safety checks were done, the teen took up a shooting stance once again. Her feet were placed shoulders' width apart and she set about dropping her shoulders a little and correcting her posture before she nocked one of the newly examined arrows, raised the bow and took her first shot of many.

[Waisana]

Every shot required greater concentration than the one before. Initially, her attention went into nocking the arrow and taking aim, but as time progressed she found it necessary to make adjustments with each new shot. The teen found it to be an exhausting and exasperating experience as her missile consistently went off-target and the bull's eye remained elusive. The strain of drawing the string back repeatedly took its toll on the muscles of her arms. Biceps and triceps ached, the dull, constant pain even seeming to seep into the bones themselves. The blonde thought she would never succeed in striking where she intended again. It was almost as if her arrows were purposely shying away from the centre. It was genuinely maddening and the young doctor felt the judging eyes of the others upon her. Not that she spent much of her time looking in their direction, but that didn't mean that she failed to know. If she risked an upwards glance then she was certain to find Aleanna laughing at her silently, mocking her ineptitude.

After a series of unsuccessful attempts, it was necessary for the girl to take an opportunity to rest. Her shoulders had become tense and seemed to have knotted and locked in place so that moving them was difficult and painful. Rolling them carefully in their sockets to force them through the entire range of motion helped to loosen them and while she could not return to her prior pain-free state, it was a considerable improvement. The arm that held the bow was flexed and bent at the elbow in a loosening exercise of its own before she shifted on the spot and resumed her shooting stance. Thus far, she had failed to repeat her earlier success but now she was determined to retry it; one of these attempts would do it for her.

Her legs were spread, the curved wood held horizontally as she fitted a new shaft to the string and tugged it back gently by the fletching. The longbow was grasped firmly, her arm completely straight as she worked the bow up and proceeded to draw at the same moment. The operation wasn't a smooth one but it was markedly improved, or at least, she liked to believe that it did. As soon as it the missile was in a level position to her target, Waisana squinted her left eye slightly to permit her right one dominance and judged the arrowhead's relation to the middle of the target. Her focus helped her to make the needed adjustments and with a quick exhalation, she released the arrow, drawing arm continuing its backwards movement even after it had let go of the shaft. It sailed swiftly but did not fly true to the heart of the target as she had wished. Instead, she discovered its flight had been skewed to the left. It was a mere inch from where she had wished it to travel and while the failure was infuriating, it meant that she was improving. Improvement was better than nothing after all and it meant she was gaining skill in this archery business.

For the first time in awhile, the doctor permitted herself to look to the pair who were observing her practice. There was a smugness about the woman that angered her, as if her near hit had somehow been worse than if she had missed altogether. Alero smiled crookedly, the meaning behind the expression difficult for the young woman to determine. Was he mocking her too? She certainly hoped not but she was determined to prove her worth to both of them. She returned her attention to her archery with an almost haughty twist of her head. Her feet had shifted from being perpendicular to where she aimed and so the teen planted them resolutely so that her side was to her target. A minute turn of the torso aided her ability to take aim and she set about nocking a fresh missile. Its shaft was placed in its required place, the arrow turned just so to ensure the vanes of the fletching would not become entangled in the bowstring. Two of them were parallel to the arrow's wood and the third pointed directly away from it. Satisfied with that part of the exercise, Waisana took a deep breath and raised and drew, trying her best once more to carry out the actions simultaneously. The bow reached the appropriate height so that her arm was held straight out in front of her. The string was pulled back so it was at her cheek. The brief squint again before she adjusted her position. She exhaled and allowed her fingers to slide off the arrow's shaft and the string. Her arm kept travelling backwards, her blown out breath following her missile as if aiding it along its way. This time, it hit where she meant it to as it struck the bull's eye. It was incredibly close to having crossed out of that small area but where it stood at the edge was testament to her victory. It was barely in but the important thing was that it had in fact managed to get in.