Solo You Want me to What!?

[Sira]

Timestamp: Fall 55, 512 AV

"You want me to what!?"

"We want you to take on a few Yasi for their bendi tasks. Teach them the ropes.. take them out hunting or give them an archery lesson. Show them what it means to be an endal, stuff like that," the flight leader responded.

"But why me? I've never taught anybody anything before.. except for Natalie."

"You're the perfect person for the job. Not only are you an endal, but you also chose an endal. You're a wind eagle, you know better than any endal what the eagles are looking for. You can give them advice."

"But.."

"It's really not up for debate, Sira. This is your new assignment. The order came straight from the Valintar."

Sira frowned, not really liking the idea of teaching a group of yasi anything, much less attempting to explain what it was the eagles were looking for. Sira really had no idea what they were looking for.. she had no idea how she even chose Aidara. She simply had. What was she supposed to tell the kids? There wasn't anything she could do about it though, the order was from the Valintar, and she had no choice but to obey it.

"Fine.. when do I start?"

"Right away. There should be a group of yasi waiting outside your aerie within the next bell. That should give you a bit of time to prepare."

"This is going to turn out to be a disaster, you know that right?"

"I don't think it will be so bad. You might even enjoy it. You can bring your daughter too, if you want. She is big enough now, isn't she?"

Sira paused to think for a moment. It was hard to believe, but it was true. Natalie was a kelvic, and as such, she grew much faster than the other children. Mentally, she was still much younger than what she appeared, but kelvics developed much quicker than humans and were capable of learning speech earlier than them as well. Sira herself was only eight years old, soon to be nine, and yet she was capable of all the complex thoughts, emotions, and desires as a human ten years older than her. It made Sira nervous to think that in just a few short years, possibly even less, Natalie would be having those same thoughts. But.. it was true. She would grow up fast physically, and if Sira didn't help her grow mentally just as quickly, she would end up regretting it sooner than later.

"Alright.. I guess I will take her. Who knows, maybe you are right and I will have fun. I guess we'll see."

[Sira]

Sira was not at all pleased with the idea of a group of yasi loitering outside the door to her aerie. What if they thought they could come in? Or worse, what if they started coming back after the lesson was over? They knew where she lived now, and that was just plain bad. Sira didn't want to be hounded by pesky yasi for the rest of her life. All in all, the kelvic was quite irritated, but there was one good thing that came out of it. It would give Natalie the chance to play with children her own age.. or.. her own size, to put it more correctly. The girl needed social interaction with people other than her mothers, and this was the perfect opportunity.

"Natalie, dear, put some clothes on. We're going out with other people today, you have to be dressed."

"But mooom, I don't like clothes!"

"I know, darling, but you have to wear them, okay."

As Sira struggled to get Natalie into her clothes, the yasi began to gather outside the door to the aerie. Sira could hear them, being loud and yasi-ish and stuff, and let out a sigh. It was one thing to spend time with her daughter, but a bunch of random kids she didn't know? It was not going to be a fun day.

"Okay, dear, it's time to go!"

Sira led her daughter to the door of their aerie, a door that in truth Natalie almost never used. As soon as she opened it she was bombarded by greetings and questions from a handful of Yasi, four of them in all plus her daughter to make five. It took Sira a few chimes to calm them down and get them all to listen to her, but when she finally did, she was able to tell them where they were going.

"Okay, so today we're going to go down to the ranges. Who here has shot a bow before?"

Two of the kids started jumping up and down excitedly, claiming they had shot the weapons before, but the other two and Natalie as well still had no experience with them. The fact that her own daughter had yet to use a bow did make Sira feel a bit ashamed. It was true, she wasn't even a year old, but Sira was already learning the talon sword and bow at Natalie's age. The two mother's were falling behind in their duties, and Sira intended to make up for that.

"Okay, good. You two can help me teach the others."

The two experienced children, both about twelve if Sira had to guess.. assuming they weren't also kelvics like she and Natalie, were named Korin and Michael. There was also Lacey and Clyde, and then of course Natalie, all who were a bit younger. Sira was bad at guessing ages, but if she had to, she would say they were both less than ten.

The trip to the ranges was not quite as bad as Sira thought it would be. The yasi were quite excited to have the opportunity to learn to shoot from an endal and were on their best behavior. That of course meant that they weren't destroying everything in their path, but they were still a handful, especially for Sira who had never dealt with any child other than her relatively well behaved daughter.

Lacey! Stop poking Korin! Michael, stop messing with Clyde!"

Exclamations like that filled the halls every so often, but all in all the children minded. The one thing Sira was not happy to see was that Natalie, for the most part, was staying out of the fun. The little kelvic did not have much experience with other children, and these children were all much older than her even if they did not look it. Sira and Addy did their best to teach Natalie the things she needed to know, but neither of the women were educators, and her intellectual side was not on the same level as her physical. Natalie was an excellent hunter, she understood what it meant to take a life, how to survive in the wild and how to catch her own food. But she could not read, she couldn't recite the history of Wind Reach, she hadn't any other skills such as glassblowing, weaving, or any of the other numerous things Yasi learned on their bendi tasks. And her social skills were completely inept. Sira could not help but see herself in the child, and it made her heart heavy. She vowed to then to try harder with Natalie, so that she wouldn't be the same social outcast that Sira had been most of her life. She didn't want Natalie to be forced to resort to her feminine charms just to get people to talk to her, as Sira had done for so long. There wasn't anything Sira could do about it right then, however. She just had to hope that Natalie would do well once she got a bow in her hands, or at the very least not completely and utterly screw up. If she could impress the other yasi, then they would overlook her lack of education at least during the session.

When they finally arrived at the range, it was the yasi range known as the Fletcher's Corner, Sira stopped at the start of the bridge and made sure to go over the rules with all of them. There were a lot of rules, but most of them were pretty much common sense, but they were still required to know them all. She made each child, Natalie included, repeat them all back to her until she was certain they had a good grasp of them, and then finally she led them into the range.

[Sira]

As usual, the range was filled with excited yasi and their mentors giving them lessons. Sira, being an Endal, was still able to procure her own slot in the third division for private instruction. Once she had a spot picked out, she had each of the children choose their bows and sign them out. Sira made sure to look over them all, inspecting the bows for cracks or other flaws. The last thing she wanted was an accident on her hands and to have to run to Aidara on her first day as a teacher. Plus.. Sira just didn't feel like dealing with the crying that would inevitably come along with injured yasi.

The bows were all adequate, though Sira wouldn't have used them if her life depended on it, and once they had their bows and arrows Sira led each of the children back to the range. Sira had brought her own bow, preferring it to the loaners that she could have gotten at the range, especially after seeing the quality of the yasi bows.

"Alright, so the first thing you need to do is string your bow. It's not hard, none of you are big enough for longbows, so you should all be able to do it by hand. Many of you will probably want to move up to longbows once you get older, though I personally like my short bow better, but for now these will do."

Sira strung her own bow, making sure all the children could see how she did it. It wasn't very complex, the key was making sure to bend the bow just enough to put the string on, but not to over bend it and risk cracking it.

"Start from the bottom, like this.. then bend the bow until you can fit the string over the notch. Sometimes it helps to bend it over your leg like this," Sira demonstrated by placing her leg through the bow and bending it over using her leg for leverage, "and that is usually safer and better for the bow as well."

Most of the children managed to string their bows with no problem, though Lacey, the young girl, seemed to be having a bit of trouble. Sira stood and walked over to her, gently taking her bow and showing her how to bend it over her leg, then helped her bend it down and slip the loop of the string over the notch.

"Don't worry, it gets easier with practice. Good job, everybody.. um.. so now, I guess lets have each of you take a shot. I want to see where you all stand before I start the actual lessons."

[Sira]

Korin, the older looking of the two boys, was the first to step up. He was one of the ones who claimed to already have experience with a bow, so Sira was keen to see just how much experience he already had. When he walked up to the line he waited for Sira to give him permission to start, indicating that he had even had a teacher before, before pulling an arrow from his quiver. They were using blunted arrows, sharp enough to stick into the target, but not as deadly as a regular arrow. The bow took a moment to find the proper place on the string. He was slow, but he did seem to know where it was supposed to go and that it had to be straight, not angled.

As soon as his arrow was nocked and he took up his firing stance Sira could tell that somebody had indeed shown the boy a thing or two. His stance was far from perfect, but she could see that he had been shown how to properly stand, how to use the muscles in his back and shoulders rather than his arms to draw back the string. Even his footing wasn't bad. He was a formal shooter, something Sira didn't really prefer, but she supposed it would be okay for a yasi. Sira considered herself an instinctual shooter, where perfection of form wasn't as important as being able to hit the target accurate. Sira could shoot her bow from a relaxed position as easily as she could a formal one, and to her that was important. But again, for the yasi, formal was a good place to start off.

The boy drew back and took aim. Sira could see his arm shaking slightly, indicating that while he might have been taught a thing or two, he wasn't experienced enough to build up the muscle required to remain steady. His breathing was poor as well, taking breaths high in the chest rather than low in the stomach. Improper breathing could throw off a shot as much as poor form. When he let loose the arrow it flew out and shot right over the target. The boy cursed when he saw it was a miss, but Sira was still impressed. He had been high, but the arrow was dead center down the range, and it would have been a good shot if he had steadied himself better before loosing.

"Not bad," Sira commented. "Next time, try to breathe more steadily. And breath in deep, it helps center your balance and.. stuff."

Sira really had no idea how to explain it to the child, she was not a teacher, and save for the very basics most of what she knew of archery was self taught. That, and she could hardly remember her basic classes. She had only been one or two when she first started shooting.

"So, who wants to go next?"

[Sira]

The next yasi up was Lacey, the girl who by appearances one would have thought was the same age, maybe a bit younger, than Natalie. Of course she was probably quite older, Sira guessed around eight or nine at least. Lacey was the one who Sira had to help string her bow, so the kelvic was already expecting her to screw up when she stepped up to the shooting line.

"Just relax, and remember what I told Korin. Breath."

The little girl was clearly nervous. Her eyes kept darting back to the other children, who were all watching her. She was having trouble getting the arrow to line up right on the string, and the first time she pulled it back it slipped off its rest, causing the other children to snicker behind her. Sira frowned, then decided that maybe if the girl had some privacy she might do better.

"Okay, guys, how about you all wait around the corner and let her do this by herself. Lacey, you go ahead and just relax. Nobody is watching you."

Nobody except for Sira, of course, though that was implied by the fact that Sira did not leave with the other children. With them gone, however, Sira could see that Lacey had visibly relaxed. Still, her form was far from perfect, and it still took her some time for the arrow to set right. She took a few practice draws, but nerves or a shaky hand caused the arrow to fall off each time. Sira was about to say something when the girl let out a frustrated sigh, then took a deep breath, and tried one more time.

While she wasn't quick, and it still took her a moment to get the arrow lined up right, Sira could tell from the moment she started to pull back on the string that something had changed. Either it was the kids being gone, or the fact that she had simply had enough, but the girl's shot was almost perfect. Her stance was way off, yes, and there were other problems with her form, but the girl pulled back and let loose so smoothly that it surprised Sira. She even hit the target, causing the kelvic to let out a cheer and the other kids came around the corner to see what was happening.

"No way," one of them said.

"Great job, Lacey! You did a great job," Sira praised the girl, who suddenly was filled with confidence by all the kind words. "Natalie, why don't you go next."

[Sira]

It was Natalie's turn to step up and take a shot. In truth, Sira did not really expect much from her daughter. She had never before used a bow, and very few people were so lucky as to have a natural talent with it. If Natalie screwed up, Sira wouldn't have judged her at all. What Sira did not think about was the pressure. Natalie had two rather well known endal parents in Sira and Aidara, and the other yasi expected the child to live up to her parent's names. Natalie expected it of herself as well. And Sira didn't know it, but the next words that came out of her mouth only made things worse for the young kelvic.

"Go ahead, Natalie. Make me proud!"

They were meant as innocent encouragement, but to Natalie they were the most damning things she could have heard. What if she screwed up? What if she missed? What is she wasn't as good as the other children? Sira encouraged her again, and with a heavy weight on her shoulders, the daughter of two endals stepped up to the firing line and started fumbling with her arrows. Sira could tell right away it was not going to be pretty. Natalie did not appear to have the required coordination for archery. It took her a long time just to get the arrow lined up on the string right, and then when she lifted the bow it fell right off its rest. Natalie tried again, and again it fell. Sira stepped forward, about to offer her some advice, but the look of determination her daughter gave her stopped her in her tracks.

One more time Natalie raised her bow, and this time the arrow didn't slip. Still, she was very nervous, and Sira could see every mistake the inexperienced girl was making. She wanted to say something, but she knew Natalie wouldn't have it. The little girl quickly raised her bow, too quickly, and drew it back. She did not draw it back far enough, and when she let go of the string not only did the arrow not fly true, but it also only went a few yards before hitting the ground more than a few feet short of her target.

"It's okay, Natalie. You just need," Sira started to say, but Natalie quickly cut her off.

"Mom! Don't! I got this."

Determined to do it on her own, Natalie pulled another arrow and fumbled until she got it on the string and quickly pulled back, letting go again before it was drawn back enough. This time the arrow didn't go anywhere at all, but instead slipped off the string right before she let go and ended up clattering to the stone floor in front of her. Letting out a frustrated huff she quickly snatched the arrow off the ground and tried again, again with less than successful results. She started to reach for another arrow, but Sira stopped her by gently grabbing hold of her wrist.

"It's okay, Natalie," Sira said, seeing tears welling in her daughter's eyes, "Not everybody gets it on their first try. You just need to practice, it'll be alright."

"But.. but.. I.. you said to make you proud. And.. I tried, but.. I couldn't do it."

"You did make me proud, Natalie. You tried very hard, and so what if you didn't figure it out right away. Neither did I, and I didn't have a mother like me to teach me. I had to be taught by mean old endals who didn't like their jobs. Don't worry, you'll be great at it, I promise!" Sira wiped away the tears from beneath her daughter's eyes with her finger then gave her a smile. "Now, lets give the others a try, and then I'll show you all how its done, alright?".

Natalie nodded, rubbing her eyes for a moment, then stepped back to let the next yasi have a go. Michael, the other yasi who claimed to have experience, was not very good. He might have handled a weapon before, or at least claimed to, but his form was bad and his accuracy was poor. If he had any formal training under his belt, it didn't show. Clyde was not very skilled either, but like Natalie, he had never before handled a bow. His parents were both chiet and didn't even own weapons of their own, so Clyde had little opportunity to practice with the bows until now. All in all, Sira had her work cut out for her. Even Lacey, the only one of them to actually hit the target, had only done it by luck. As far as Sira was concerned, all of them were empty plates waiting to be piled with lessons. To her, though, the most important part was teaching Natalie. She didn't care if Natalie was a master archer or not, but Natalie cared, and Sira did not want to let her daughter down any more than Natalie wanted to let her mother down.

"Alright, everybody, I'm going to take a few shots to show you how it's done. I'll try to go slow, that way you can see what I'm doing. And I'll try to explain what I'm doing as I go also."

Sira picked up her own bow, an heirloom left to her by her grandfather. Normally it probably would have gone to one of her brothers, but they both preferred the longbow, and the weapon ended up hers. Sira did not know her grandfather, he died before she was born, but she did love the bow he left her.

The kelvic stepped up to the firing line, smoothly drawing an arrow from her quiver. She was skilled enough that she didn't really need to look at what she was doing to get it into the right place, but Sira was trying to give a demonstration, so she turned so that the yasi could see her do it.

"This part takes a very long time before you can get it down perfectly, and sometimes it helps to mark your string so that you can tell where the arrow is supposed to go. I don't need it anymore, but the last string I had still had a mark on it. This string is fairly new. ..anyway," Sira popped the arrow onto the string, taking a moment to adjust the angle. Oddly enough, she could get it perfectly when she wasn't thinking about it, but when she was it was much harder.

"You want to make sure it is straight. If the arrow is tipped up or down too much, it wont fly right, and you will almost always miss your target. Especially if it's far away."

[Sira]

Once her arrow was properly aligned, Sira assumed the proper firing stance. Really, she didn't use such stances when she was out hunting, but for training purposes it would be better to show the yasi how to do it "right." Sira stood, her legs spread about shoulder width apart and facing to the side. She took a deep breath, relaxing her shoulders as she breathed out, and then reached for the string. She started to draw it back, but then she remembered something else she needed to explain.

"Oh yeah! I almost forgot, how you hold the string is important too. There are different ways to do it. I prefer one finger above the arrow, and two below. But some people do all three below, or just one above one below, or they use all four fingers.. it doesn't really matter, whatever is most comfortable for you to do. I do one above, two below." Sira held up the bow for the yasi to get a better look at before continuing with her explanation. "Not matter how you hold it though, the most important part is that you aren't touching the arrow. Keep your fingers away from it, because if the arrow touches your fingers when you release it, it could make it fly weird and you'll miss your target."

After all the kids got a good look at how she was holding the string, Sira went back to her stance and started to draw back, lifting the arrow up as she did so. "Some people like to aim first, then draw, but I think it's easier to aim as you draw personally. Either way works, just do whatever you find easiest."

As she drew on the string her back straightened out, the upper muscles and her shoulder muscles tightening with practiced ease. Sira kept her breathing easy, aiming down the shaft as she pulled back on the string until the point of her index finger reached the edge of her lip. She took a final moment to adjust her aim, and then released the string. The arrow shot out across the range and hit the target with a loud thud, striking somewhere not dead center, but close enough that it drew a cheer from the excited yasi watching her. Sira smiled, turning back around.

"Okay, so there was some important stuff ther-"

"Endal Sira, that was amazing," one of the yasi interrupted, "Do it again!"

"Yeah, do it again, mom"

Sira chuckled, and then nodded her head. "Alright, one more time, but then you guys have to listen to me so you can learn how I did that."

Once the yasi had all consented to her demand, Sira turned back to draw another arrow. This time she didn't bother taking her time. The endal quickly and smoothly pulled the arrow from her quiver and nocked it to the string. Her fingers quickly found their places above and below the arrow, her left arm straightened but did not lock as she pulled back. The bow was tilted ever so slightly to the side, as Sira preferred it. Her foot placement was still correct, but the rest of her stance was more casual than the shot before. Sira drew back on the string, aiming as she pulled, and as soon as her finger touched the edge of her lip she release in one fluid motion, her hand still traveling backwards a few inches. Sira held that pose until the arrow thudded home, landing ever so slightly closer to the center than the one before it had. She was a better shot when she did it her way, instinctive shooting it was called, than when she tried to be formal but it still wasn't absolutely perfect. Even so, it brought forth another round of cheers from the yasi.

"Alright," Sira said as she turned back around to face the children, "Now, did anyone see the difference between the way I made those two shots?"

[Sira]

The yasi of course had no idea what she was talking about, for the most part, but Sira was surprised when Lacey raised her hand and stepped forward to answer. The girl was very shy, but of all of them, she seemed to have the most natural talent. Sira nodded to her in recognition, encouraging her to speak up so that she could be heard.

"Um.. well.. it looked like. Well, your last shot was more.. um.. fancy than this one. Like, you were trying harder on the first one than on the second. The second one looked like you didn't even try at all."

Sira smiled. The girl was a smart one, and Sira liked her. It was unfortunate that Natalie would soon out grow her, she would have been a good friend for the young kelvic. Unfortunately Sira knew firsthand that it was hard to keep childhood friends when you doubled in size over the course of one year. Even so, the girl would be a good influence for now, and maybe Natalie and the other yasi could learn a thing or two from her.

"That's right. The first way was formal, the second way was relaxed. Out on the hunt, you don't usually have the time or space to be formal. You need to be able to shoot from any position, whether you are standing, laying, peeking out from behind a rock, or whatever. Formal style is great for the range, and it's great for learning the basics, but eventually you have to break away from that and get to where shooting is second nature to you. Especially if you hope to shoot from the back of an eagle one day."

The mention of eagles drew all of their attention, and one of the boys asked, "Endal Sira. Is it true that you can turn into an eagle?"

"My mom can turn into the best eagle of them all!"

Sira laughed when Natalie answered for her. She didn't usually talk about her wind eagle form. While it wasn't always the case, Sira was very proud of what and who she was. People usually just didn't question her about it, and so Sira rarely had a chance to talk about it.

"Yes, it's true. Though I don't know if I'm the best of them all.. but yes, I can turn into a wind eagle."

"That's so cool!"

"I wish I could become an eagle!"

"Endal Sira, what's it like to fly?"

"It is the greatest feeling in the world.. there isn't anything like it, really."

"Endal Sira, how do I become an endal?"

"You have to be picked by an eagle, stupid!"

"No, you have to have endal parents!"

"No, you have to be the deadliest hunter of them all!"

"Actually," Sira interrupted the children, "None of that is true, except for being picked by an eagle. But your parents don't matter, and you don't have to be deadly at all. I picked Aidara, and she is a healer, not a hunter. We.. the eagles, we choose people not because of what they can do.. but because of who they are. It's.. it's hard to explain, I've never really thought about it before. Being a good hunter helps, and having endal parents can help sometimes.. but it is who you are inside that we look at. That's why even a dek can become an endal if they are brave and have a strong heart."

"What!? Deks can't become endals."

"Yes they can. My mom wouldn't lie!"

"No they can't. Deks are just Sym bait!"

"Nah uh! I heard of a dek that became an endal just last year. My momma told me about him."

"Well your momma is crazy!"

"No she isn't, yours is!"

"Your face is crazy!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Hey, hey, that's enough," Sira finally spoke up. "Nobody's face is crazy. And deks can become Endal. It isn't up to them, it's up to the wind eagles, and if a wind eagle wants to choose a dek then they can choose a dek. Now.. I thought we were supposed to be practicing archery? Let's get back to work. Okay?"

"Yes, endal Sira," the yasi all replied in unison.

[Sira]

Sira decided, after some deliberation with herself, that she would let the kids go again and try to give each of them advice as they went. She really could not think of any other way to teach them other than to let them practice and for her to comment on them. If there were some other method, Sira was sure she wasn't going to think of it. She learned best through practice herself, and she couldn't think of any better way.

"Alright, Korin, why don't you try again."

Korin stepped up, full of confidence just as he had been before even though he failed to hit his target. Sira chuckled at the image, imagining him as an endal in the future. There were so many that were proud and confident just like Korin was, even though they had little reason to consider themselves any better than the rest of the endal. It really was quite amusing. When Korin drew his arrow and nocked it to the bow, Sira knelt next to him to offer some advice.

"Like I said before, make sure it is straight. You don't want it tilted up or down, it needs to lie perfectly flat. And try out the different finger grips I showed you, that way you can see which one you like best."

Korin did as he was told, taking a few moments to make sure the arrow was lined up perfectly before experimenting with different ways to hold the string. It was kind of funny to watch, and Sira had to stifle a laugh, but eventually the boy settled on the three below style. It didn't really make a difference to her how he held it, as long as he was comfortable with it, and after a few test pulls the boy decided that he was.

"Okay, so the next part is figuring out where your anchor point is. I like mine to be right when my index finger touches the edge of my lip, but some people choose other places. For now, just do it my way so we can all be on the same feather. So what you want to do is pull the string back until your finger pokes your lip, and that is where you'll hold it. When you hunt, you might not have time to take a long time aiming like this, but here on the range it is good to take your time when starting off. Holding back your draw will build up your muscles, and you have to be strong if you want to do this often. So go ahead and pull it back and hold it for a few ticks while you aim at the target. Look down the arrow, and you'll want to aim a little bit above where you want it to go because the arrow is going to fall. So.. for now, I just want you to worry about pulling it back and holding it for five ticks, then releasing. Don't worry about if you hit the target or not, this is just to build up your strength."

Korin nodded as Sira gave him his instructions and began to follow through. He pulled back the string and stopped once his finger poked his lip, then began to hold it. After only two ticks Sira could already see him shaking, and on the fourth he lost his grip and let go. The arrow flew out, missing the target by a long shot, but that was to be expected.

"Good job! Like I said, don't worry about hitting the target, and I didn't really expect you to hold it the full five. I want you to keep practicing that until it is easy to hold it for five ticks, then I want you to start holding it for ten, okay? The longer you can hold it without having to let go, the better. Once you are able to hold it back for a full half chime, we'll start working on accuracy, alright?"

"Yes, endal Sira."

"Good.. okay, now who's next?"

[Sira]

The next yasi up was Clyde, one of the younger two who professed to having never used a bow before. Sira always found it odd to meet someone who wasn't familiar with the bow, but she had to remind herself that he was only just a child and had not been old enough to start his practice. His parents were poor, and could not afford to buy him a bow to learn with on his own either. Really, it was a sad case. Sira's mother had been poor, technically, but her brothers were both much older than her and were both endal, so Sira had never really suffered the life many of the low-born endal had. Plus she had her grandfather's bow, so even if they had been poor, she could have still practiced on her own. Not to mention the fact that as soon as Sira was able to fly she was able to begin hunting for the city and earn her keep.

Clyde had none of those benefits, and it was obvious as he fumbled around with his bow trying to hold it in one hand while nocking the arrow with the other. When he finally managed to do that, something that even an inexperienced person should have been able to do faster than what he did, he help it up to show Sira how he'd done and all she could do was sigh. The arrow was tipped way up, and if he shot it the arrow was just going to flip up over his head and possibly injure someone, most likely himself.

"Okay, Clyde, remember what I said. It has to rest flat.. even with the ground."

Sira knew there was a better word to describe what she was saying, but her vocabulary wasn't amazing, and neither were the yasi's so it didn't really matter. Sira evened out the boys arrow for him, making sure that it rested parallel to the ground, and then handed it back to him. The boy moved on to the next step, drawing the bow back. Sira was originally intending on having him do the same exercise that she made Korin do, but when she saw him grip the string with his entire fist she had to stop him.

"No, no, no, not like that! Don't use more than two or three fingers to grip the string, four only if you really just can't hold on with less. But you don't grip it like you're making a fist. That.. that could end up bad. If you let go of the string and your thumb wasn't out of the way it could catch and get hurt, not to mention the arrow wouldn't fly straight and you might end up even shooting yourself or someone near you. Here, hold it like I do and try that."

Sira showed the boy how to grip the string, using only the tips of his fingers, and only three of them for that matter. She made sure he wasn't touching the arrow with them, either, that way it would exit the bow smoothly and not bump his fingers on the way out.

"Okay, now draw and try to hold it for five ticks, if you can. Don’t forget, draw all the way back until your finger touches your lip."

Clyde nodded and started to pull back on the string, but the arrow slipped off its rest and fell to the side. Rather than slowly let the string loosen back up, Clyde instead just let go of it completely to try to catch the arrow, resulting in it popping back and catching his arm in the process. The boy let out a frightened yelp and Sira saw that he had managed to cut himself. The endal simply sighed. She purposely had not made them wear bracers to protect their arms. It was important to feel the pain that came with screwing up, that way you wouldn't do it again. It worked way better than using bracers and never feeling it.

"Calm down, it will be okay. Go and run to the infirmary. Addy is there, she'll patch you up good as new."