[Flashback] Snow Flurries (Solo)

[Aello]

Summer 18, 509 AV Aello crept through the Northern Reaches, the grip of her father's old bow resting in her left hand. Her fingers curled around it, as the right inched the loaded bowstring back. Slowly, causing it to creak as several flurries of white snow fluttered all around her. Falling into the blanket which already lined the ground. As she trudged through the snow, Aello left the smallest of tracks. Smooth, simple tracks, which were already being filled to the brim by that which was still making its way down. As she breathed, tendrils of silver air spilled out of her lips. Swirling in the air just in front of her. Her nostrils flared as cold air cut their way in. Coursing its way down the length of her nose, and into her throat. Causing them both to sting. Why is this place always so damn quiet? Aello wondered, as she made her way along, her fingers turning white with the cold. Her nose red, as several bits of snow got caught in her lashes. As several more lined her hair. Melting after a few moments, causing it to shimmer in the light of the rising sun. A sun which caressed the girl's skin with its warm golden rays. Holding her softly in its embrace. Offering her pale flesh kisses, that did little to help her body lock in the heat. The girl was simply not a Vantha. Never marked by Morwen, she struggled to stay warm no matter how many layers she wore. No matter how quickly she trudged along through the snow, in search for something to shoot. Something to bring down. Even something to simply practice her aim on. A tree. An animal carcass. She'd settle for just about anything right now. Aello sighed. "This place is too damn quiet. Perhaps it's best then, to return to the city. At least, there are other signs of life there." Her breath froze in the air as she whispered to herself. Her body trembled, her muscles rippling beneath her flesh. "Yes, perhaps it's time. It's getting too damn cold anyway," she added, as she turned herself around, and began to walk in the opposite direction.

[Aello]

The girl made her way through the snow, slowly, easing the string a little closer to the bow's wooden frame as she walked, thinking that she would never find the time to shoot her arrow anyway. For it was simply too cold, and nothing to shoot at was presenting itself to her line of sight. Aello sighed. Why did she even bother coming into the wastes anymore, if she never found anything anyway? Surely her time would be far better spent staying in the city, and shooting at the range. Perhaps studying under one of the mentors who taught there. But that was boring. No challenge ever presented itself in a situation such as that. You merely reloaded your bow over and over, and shot at a lifeless, unmoving target over and over, until your fingers grew numb. Until the arm that held the bow's frame was bruised, and sore, and your eyes couldn't keep sight of the bulls-eye anymore. Or perhaps, until you had shot so many arrows through the target that it began to sag. Or ripped off the wooden frame that supported it completely. Aello sighed. At least, out in the Northern Reaches, there was a slight change of scenery. At least here, there was a chance at adventure. That she may encounter a challenge. Something new and frightening, something she couldn't experience within the city walls. If only Aello knew where to look, perhaps she would have found something already. Because, although the reaches held a certain promise that the city of Avanthal itself, did not, she had to know where to go. Otherwise, she simply wandered in circles, wasting daylight. Her skill with a bow getting no better for she failed to actually get anything done. For she failed to find a sort of target. Aello sighed again. There had to be something for her to work with before she wasted yet another day out in the wastes. Doing nothing, accomplishing nothing. The girl stopped, dead in her tracks. She cast her gaze from left to right, ahead of her, and over her shoulder. But all she saw was an endless white blanket. Grey skies on the horizon, from which even more snow fell. She bit her bottom lip nervously. Maybe there's a way for me to make a target out of the snow, she thought, as she eased the bowstring into a less tense position, and then plucked the arrow off the serving. She held it between her fingertips, and then reached over her head, returning the arrow to her quiver. When the arrow clicked against the side of the others, Aello laced her bow over her arm, allowing it to rest upon her shoulder. Maybe one can be drawn with one's foot, she thought, as she moved a few paces to the left of her footsteps through the snow. Once there, she wandered in a small circle, leaving a cut-out in the snow. When she had finished, she took a few steps so that she may view her work. Aello's circle was sloppy. Maybe two feet by two and a half, if even that. She shrugged. "That should do," she thought, as she moved several paces to her right, away from the makeshift snow target. By the time she was about ten yards away, she pulled her bow down the length of her arm, and placed her left hand back on the grip.

[Aello]

Aello raised her right hand over her shoulder, and pulled a single peacock-feather fletched arrow from her quiver. She brought it forward, to the front of her body. As she did so, she turned her bow on its side, so that it ran from the right side of her body, to the left. She delicately laced her arrow onto the serving, and when she heard a soft click, knew that it had taken. She eased the three middle fingers of her right hand around the arrow. The top two above, and the one on the bottom below. Slowly, Aello began to ease the bowstring back, causing it to creak as she righted her bow, and assumed a proper shooting stance. Her left foot was placed a foot ahead of the left. It was turned towards the target, while the right was turned to her right side. From her hips upwards, her body was turned towards the right. Her face was turned towards the target, which she could spot only from the footprints that led up to it, and surrounded it. She closed her left eye as she raised the bow. "Here we go," she whispered, as she pulled the bowstring even farther back. The bowstring continued to creak, as it cut across Aello's slender fingers. At first, it caused them to grow red with the pressure, and then white. First a subtle sting, that grew steadily stronger, before her fingers became numb with a mixture of the pressure and the cold. Aello pushed her bow down, thinking that with only a bit of a breeze, and the target being on the ground, there was no need to aim high. She practically held her breath as she tugged the string past her smile, and then her right ear. Maybe this is a good place to begin one's aim, she thought, as she let go of the string, sending the arrow away. It soared through the air, cutting through it silently towards the target, as she string was sent into a series of rapid vibrations, which produced a low humming sound. Barely audible over the whistling wind. The string whacked Aello's shooting arm, as she watched the arrow glide, and then skid across the snow, a small distance past the target she had made. "Well that wasn't too good," she whispered, as she lowered her bow, and quickly reloaded. She returned to a similar stance, if not the exact one as before based off her muscle memory. She stared down the length of the arrow, knowing that her current position would not do. Since the last arrow overshot the target, it would make sense to lower the bow, in the hopes that the arrow will land inside, she thought, as she did what her mind considered best. Once she had inched the bow down a little, Aello pulled the string back a little more, before letting go. The arrow erupted off of the string, soaring through the air, against a current of wind, which managed to knock it off course, causing the arrow to fall several feet to the left of her line of footprints. Lovely, Aello thought as she lowered her bow, and quickly reloaded. That went over sooooo well. OOCArrow count: 2 shot, reloaded. Six left in quiver.

[Aello]

Aello raised her bow, and eased the string back. Maybe this time, we will actually get the arrow within the confines of the target, she told herself as she raised her weapon even higher. She sighted down the arrow, trying to find the outline of her target, which was quickly sinking into a pool of newly-fallen, white snow. Ahh petch, Aello thought, as the tip of her arrow ran over the right edge of her target. This isn't going to do for long, her mind whispered, as she let go of the bowstring. The arrow left the string in a hurry, and flew through the air in a relatively straight line, until it dipped near the end of its flight, falling an inch to the right side of her target. "Petch! What is going on with my aim today?" Aello hollered, her voice being drowned out by the wind. She was clearly confused. Clearly upset with herself. Why she seemed incapable of completing a task she had deemed simple enough. A little more swiftly than she had been doing before, on account of her frustration, Aello lowered her bow, and then reloaded. She raised it again, and shot blindly, her arrow landing several feet past her target. Aello grit her teeth. Her muscles coiling around themselves. Bunching as they tightened and tensed. They rippled angrily beneath her skin, as she ground her pearly white teeth together. Producing a low scratching noise. Her eyes were blazing, her left hand tightening its grip around the wooden frame of her father's old bow. Her fingers winding around its length as though they were snakes trying o strangle a rat. Your anger is not helping your aim, Aello's mind whispered. Force yourself to breath, and to calm down, and perhaps, you will manage to complete your task. Aello nodded, as she lowered her bow, and held it against her left side. She closed her eyes, holding them lightly shut, so that the lids would not bunch. She took a moment to breath in through her nose. She held her breath in her lungs for several seconds, until they began to sting. Finally, at that point, she let her breath out, with a low sigh, before repeating the process. All the while, telling her body to calm down and be at peace, over and over again, a mantra. After several moments, Aello could feel herself calming down, and opened her eyes. Now you're ready to shoot, she told herself, as she pulled her bow back out, and quickly reloaded. She raised her bow once more, closed her left eye, and moved the bow to the right, thinking she was too far over. A little more, a little more. There, she told herself as she eased the bowstring back a little more before letting go. The arrow shot true and free, before landing a few feet in front of where the target had once been. Petch, Aello thought, as she lowered her bow, and strung it over her left shoulder. She couldn't even see the outline of her target anymore, or most of her footprints, for they had been filled with fresh snow. Thankfully, the wind had blown the snow off her arrows, and she was able to retrieve them with ease, and place them back in her quiver. It was probably for the best that the target sealed itself away, Aello's mind whispered, for that was just as tedious as shooting at the range. You may as well have stayed in... surely you can think of something better. Something a little more, challenging... The girl's thoughts trailed off as she glanced up at the sky. At the snow that kept pummeling her slender form. The snow that clung to her flesh, tickling it. The snow that clung to her hair, before melting, and causing it to bunch together, to stick to her scalp. A small smile crossed her lips as she stuck her tongue out, and caught a few flurries before pulling it back inside, away from the cold. Maybe... OOCArrow count, 5 shot. Sorry this is tedious chesh!

[Aello]

A single flake fell onto Aello's nose, and melted after but a moment. Gone as quickly as it had come. Perhaps we can make them our targets. Shoot at them... they fall so quickly and are so fleeting, they are sure to present a challenge. Prove to be far more fun than shooting at a target of petching snow... far too similar to shooting at the painted hay targets you find all over the globe. Aello smiled weakly as she lowered her gaze, allowing it to become more level with the terrain. Allowing her chin to run parallel to the ground. "Yes, the snow should do," she thought, as she raised her bow once more, and pulled an arrow from her quiver. She laced it onto the bowstring, before surrounding it with the three middle fingers of her right hand. She eased it back, as she took a moment to consider. Should she shoot upwards, directly over her head at the ones that fell, trying to strike from beneath them. Or should she shoot at them as one would at a range. Try to strike them from their right or left side? Aello pulled the string past her right ear. She didn't often get the chance to shoot upwards at things. Like a bird perhaps. Maybe her time would be best spent practicing her aim in that fashion. Especially after she had spent a small portion of her day shooting in the other fashion. It was good to practice all forms, right? Just to be sure that she was prepared. Slowly, she raised her bow, and cast her gaze upwards, towards the sky. Aello eased the string back, causing it to creak and settle into her pale, freezing flesh. It make creases against her skin, lines of red, as she narrowed her gaze so as to block out some of the snow that kept on falling from the sky, settling itself upon her flesh. Aello's brown eyes followed the lines of snow flurries. The white specks that sparkled in the sunlight as they fluttered to the ground. She pulled back on the string even more, before letting go, just letting the arrow fly. It shot straight up, cutting through a few flakes, before falling back down towards the ground. Landing in the blanket of snow ahead of her, no more than few feet away. The girl smiled, and then laughed. She quickly reloaded, and shot the arrow when it was lined up directly with her nose. When it was pointed straight over her head. It didn't shoot up that high this time, before it came swirling back down, crashing into the earth before it had a chance to break anything. Crashing into a place just in front of her feet. It scared the girl a little, and made her laugh at the thought that it may have chopped off her nose. Aello reloaded her bow once more, and shot it randomly into the sky. The arrow split several flakes down the center. Sending a multitude of tiny white specks in every which direction before it fell. Before she fell on her back, laughing. Her body sinking into the snow as she shut her eyes and let herself enjoy this moment, until she could no more. Until she forced herself to get up, get her things, and go inside, where it was warm.

[Cheshire]

Character: Aello Experience: Observation +1, Weapon (Shortbow) +3, Meditation +1 Lore: Creating a Target, Additional Note: Aello is a weirdo, but I love her. Good thread. PM me with concerns.