(Flashback) Mud and Arrows (Solo)

[Aello]

Spring 50, 503 AV "Like this?" Aello asked, as she held her hands up for her father to inspect. Her right hand was curled around the center of the bow frame, the index and middle fingers of her left hand were gripping the bowstring lightly. Her father, who had been standing behind his daughter and laughing lightly, replied, "you got it backwards. You need to switch your hands around. The right should be on the bowstring, and the left on the wooden portion itself." Aello stared unhappily down at her hands, why couldn't she ever get anything right the first time? she wondered, as she brought her left hand up to meet the right, and then moved her right hand back to where the left used to be. They had now switched positions entirely. "Like this?" Aello asked her father. He simply nodded in response. The girl turned back to the once-empty sack of flour that her father had filled with fresh dirt from the side of their house. It was sitting on a small tuft of grass, poking out of the earth in silence. "And we're aiming for that sack of dirt?" her father nodded again. The girl sighed, it seemed like such a peculiar target to be practicing on. But Aello didn't argue, when it came to archery, her father always had known best. The target was set ten yards away from where Aello was standing in front of her father. The sun was shining down from behind a mass of blue, and the occasional, fluffy white cloud. It cast everything in a pale golden light, while the ethereal winds blew only lightly from time to time. It was just enough to make the grass sway like the waves of the sea, and to allow Aello's hair to dance around her. "Now that you have gotten how to hold onto the bow Aello, you must work on your stance," her father explained. Aello nodded, waiting for him to instruct her on how to do things properly. He walked up beside her and placed his left foot forward. It was pointed straight ahead, at the target. The right foot was positioned about ten inches behind the left. The toe was pointed outwards, and away from Aello's and her father's body, to the right. Together, the feet formed a ninety degree angle. Aello mimicked the footing, and then looked up at her father expectantly. "Good, now the last bit is a little tricky, you are going to turn your body without moving your feet, so that your stomach is pointed towards me." Her father demonstrated by shifting his body at the waist, so that he was turned away from his daughter. Much like the stance a fencer may take. "Now you try," Aello had no problem doing what her father had done. "Now the last thing you have to do, as far as stance is concerned, is look forward, towards wherever you're aiming." Aello rolled her eyes. Who did her father think she was? Wasn't that well... obvious? "Now Aello, it is time for you to load your bow so we can start shooting," her father explained. Slowly, he reached over his shoulder with his right hand, and pulled a single peacock-feather tipped arrow out of his quiver. He handed it to Aello, who gingerly plucked it out of his grasp with her right hand. She was holding it tightly, her knuckles growing right. "Do you know what to do with it Aello?" he asked. Aello shook her head. He laughed lightly, "turn your bow to the side, so that the wooden frame is running horizontally instead of vertically." Why is he calling it my bow if I'm borrowing his? Aello wondered as she did as she was told. "Good, now you're going to lace the arrow onto the bow," there was a pause as Aello looked up at her father confusedly. "At the end of the arrow is something called a knock. It is a little split in the wood for the archer to put the bowstring through." The girl looked down at the arrow, and sure enough, there was the knock her father had described to her. It appeared to Aello as though she would have to turn the arrow onto its side as well, in order to get the knock through the bowstring. Slowly, she turned it between her fingertips, and slowly, brought it towards the bowstring. "You should lace it through more towards the center of the bowstring is love," there was a slight pause, "where that black bit is on the string. It's called the serving. The bowstring is a little thicker there, which allows the arrow to take to the string more easily." Aello nodded as she brought the arrow upwards a bit, and then knocked it onto the serving. There was a soft click. The girl looked up at her father, as if to say, is that normal? Her father merely smiled weakly, his eyes seemed to sparkle in the pale sunlight. "When the arrow has taken to the string, it will make that sound Aello, remember that." "Ok dad," she replied simply. "Now do we get to actually shoot this thing?" she asked. Her father laughed, "yes, we do. Now turn your bow again so that it is running vertically." Aello twisted the bow, and returned her right middle and index finger to the string. They were placed on top of the arrow. Catching sight of this, her father instructed, "one of your fingers should be wrapped around the top of the arrow, the other on the bottom, to help keep it in place." Slowly, Aello brought her middle finger off the string, and then repositioned it below the arrow. "Good." There was another clicking nose as the arrow tapped against the wooden frame of the bow. "When that happens love, just tilt the bow to the right for a second, to realign things," Aello nodded, as the arrow quit clicking. "Now Aello, you're going to start to pull back on the string." Slowly, Aello's fingers inched farther and farther back, until the end of the bowstring rested beside her smile. "Good, but that may not be far enough back to reach the target. Can you get the bowstring to go any farther?" her father asked. Aello tried to inch the bowstring back, but she couldn't get it to. All the attempt did was make her fingers tremble and ache, as the bowstring dug farther and farther into her skin, causing them to turn red. "Well that's alright, in that case, perhaps you should use your ring finger as well." Aello extended her ring finger to the bowstring, and curled it around the white expanse. "It may be easier to guide the arrow if your index and middle finger is above it, and the ring finger below." Aello adjusted her fingers. "Good, now close your left eye." Aello stared at her father as if to say, now why would anyone do that? "You aim by looking down the arrow. If you try to use both of your eyes, they will fight each other, and you won't do as well Aello. So it is best to use only one," her father tried to explain. Shrugging, Aello closed her left eye. "Now aim down the arrow, pull the string back as far as it will go, and then let go of it whenever you're ready. Remember, there is no rush with this sort of thing, so take your time." Aello nodded as she began to inch the bowstring even farther back, to the front of her ear. Now what does shooting down the arrow mean? Aello wondered, as she moved the bow an inch to the left before letting go of the string. The arrow erupted from the string, sending it into a vibrational fit that produced a low, strangely calming, humming sound. The bowstring whacked the side of the girl's arm, as the arrow soared closer and closer to the target, before falling from the air, and then skidding across the grass, picking up clods of dirt, and tearing out several blades of grass as it went. Finally, it came to a halt about a foot to the right of the target. "Dad, that hurt," Aello moaned, in reference to her arm. Her father smiled, "if you hold your arm a little straighter next time, the string may not hit you as hard." There was a slight pause, "it's good that it did though Aello, that means that you're doing it right." Aello looked up at her father with sad eyes. Why hurt yourself when you're only trying to have some fun? Her father was holding out another peacock feather fletched arrow to her. Aello plucked it from his fingertips, if somewhat reluctantly. "That was good for a first shot Aello. Now, if you just aim a little higher, and more to the left, you can hit the target," he explained. Aello gulped as she turned the bow to the side, and knocked the arrow. Click! Aello raised the bow again, and began to pull back on the bowstring. Her left eye was now closed, and she was trying desperately to sight down the arrow, whatever that meant.

[Aello]

Aello took a deep breath, in through the nose, out through the mouth. "Just remember to aim down the arrow, and let go of the string whenever you're ready," her father told her. Aello nodded as the bowstring creaked. It was tightening now that it was being drawn farther and farther back, past the girl's ear. Her fingers were turning red now that that the bowstring was digging into them. Her knuckles were white from the pressure she had been exerting. The girl had begun to bite her bottom lip when she let go of the bowstring. The arrow erupted out of the string. It swung to the side, and whacked the girl's left arm, but not as much as the first time around. Aello's father had been right, now that her arm was held out a little straighter, the backlash didn't effect her as much. The bowstring hummed as the arrow sliced through the air. It soared in a straight line, before dipping as it flew. The arrow landed a few seconds later. It had pierced the ground a foot to the right of the target. The arrow was sticking out of the ground at a fifty-three degree angle, the feathers that lined it were swaying lightly in the wind. They seemed to be mocking Aello, daring her to do better. Aello lowered her bow. She was a little disappointed. She had hoped to be doing a little better by now, as unreasonable as that may be. "Don't worry love, you'll get there," was all her father said as he held out another peacock-feather tipped arrow. Aello snatched it out of her father's hands. She twisted the shortbow so that the wooden frame ran horizontally across her body. She bent her right knee, and allowed the bow to rest against it as she strung the third arrow onto the bowstring. Click! Aello straightened out her knee, and lifted the bow again. She turned it around, so that the wooden frame would run vertically again. She adjusted her footing so that she had assumed the shooting position once more- the right foot came back, and the foot turned to the side. Her body turned from the waist up, so that she would once again be facing her father, and her eyes were watching the target. That annoying sack of dirt which she so desperately wanted to hit. Aello wrapped her three middle fingers around the arrow- her middle and ring fingers on top, the index finger below. She was slowly lifting her bow as she closed her left eye, and began to pull back on the bow string. The string dug into her flesh as it inched past her ears again. Just shoot down the arrow, she silently told herself, as she stared at the tip of her arrow. It seemed as though it were pointing at the curled flap of the sack of dirt. The portion that had been curled into itself so that the contents wouldn't go flying when someone tried to carry it around. Maybe that is what sighting down the arrow means. Staring down the shaft to see where the arrowhead is pointing, and aiming that way. Aello smiled, if that's the case, you're probably aiming a little high right now, so perhaps if you lower the bow by about an inch... Aello tilted her bow downwards by about an inch. Now it was pointed two inches below the top of the sack, towards the center. Aello let go of the bowstring. The arrow shot out of the bow, and soared through the air with a low hissing sound. It soared relatively straight until the last few seconds of its flight, in which it began to fall through the air, before landing in the lower left hand corner of the target with a muffled thwack. The paper seemed to crinkle into the arrow, and a few grains of dirt trickled out of the sides of the sack. Aello lowered her bow again. "Very good work Aello," her father said. A wide smile had crossed the girl's face, spreading from ear to ear. "Thanks," she said, as her father held out another arrow. Aello was just about to take it, when a loud, boy's voice cut through the relatively tranquil air. "DAD!" Aello's brother called. "What is it son?" her father called back. "Come here please!" he called back. Aello's father sighed as he placed the arrow back in the quiver, and walked over to the target. He retrieved the three arrows his daughter had shot, and returned them to his quiver. As soon as he had pulled the arrow that had struck the target out, a steady stream of dark brown dirt began to pour out of the hole the arrow had made. It pooled at the foot of the sack, flattening several blades of grass beneath it. "Coming son!" Aello's father called when he had gotten everything. He had walked back to Aello and explained that he had promised to show her brother how to use his dagger today. "But we can practice again tomorrow, ok?" he said, as he walked past her. "Ok," Aello replied cheerfully, she was looking forward to what tomorrow had in store for her.

[Tabarnac]

XP Award! Aello XP Award: Shortbow +5 Lore: Anatomy of an Arrow; Archery 101 Additional Notes: Normally I wouldn't give that much XP for two posts, but you were very thorough and I liked how you mixed in some character development and relationships for her. Just a note, though: arrows have a "nock" rather than a "knock" for future reference. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions or concerns. Keep writing!