Closed [The Bent Arrow] Flying Arrows (Erade)

[Azira]

17th Fall, 513 AV Azira slipped out of the Sanikas Gates, her bow in hand and her quiver slung across her back. She shivered, wrapping her arms around herself as she walked. The weather was unusually cool for this time of year, no doubt this was a consequence of the heat wave they'd experienced during the summer. The weather was completely messed up and she wouldn't be surprised if they got hit with some unusual weather in the near future. But the weather didn't mean that much to her today; she wasn't going hunting seeing as this was her day off. Today she was planning on having some fun. How would she have fun? By shooting at targets of course. She was making her way down to the Bent Arrow, the community archery range, to meet someone, a Yasi. She'd met the Yasi in question, Erade, a few days previously in the Communal Kitchens. For some bizarre reason, she'd engaged the Yasi in conversation. She had no idea what had possessed her to talk to the Yasi girl, not normally being very social, but the conversation had turned to archery. Azira had been boastful, bragging about her bow skills and using her profession as a hunter as proof of her prowess. It had led to a challenge from Erade, who claimed she could do better than Azira in the archery ranges. It was laughable that the Yasi thought she could better an Avora hunter but Azira wasn't one to back down from a challenge. She found herself smiling smugly as she made her way down to the range. This competition was going to be a breeze. She'd shoot a few arrows, wipe the floor with Erade and prove her superiority. Maybe if the girl was passably good at archery then Azira might take her on as a little side project and train her a little. She snorted with laughter at the thought. That scrawny girl, good at archery? she thought, sniggering to herself. Fat chance of that. True, Azira could be regarded as a scrawny girl herself, her stature causing people to assume she was a Yasi, but she wasn't really. Years of working with a bow had given her strong muscles. She stepped into the range gazing around for her opponent. Her eyes took in the stone benches, the targets on the firing wall and the Eagle Riders' landing platform but there was no sign of Erade; Azira had arrived first. She flopped down onto one of the benches to wait. As she waited, her thoughts turned to her Yasi days when she had nearly fainted in this range. She had been standing on a bench like the one she was currently sitting on and had been staring downwards towards the bottom of the mountain. It had been a dare, a competition to see who could stare straight down the longest. And she'd lost, falling backwards off her perch in a wave of dizziness to land painfully on her backside. She winced at the memory and shook her head to clear it. Calm yourself before that Yasi gets here. Be ready, Azira told herself.

[Erade]

Erade rushed through the Inner Warrens to the gates."This is definitely becoming a trademark of mine. Rushing through the tunnels and hallways of Wind Reach and arriving with impeccable timing." The yasi grumbled with sarcastic overtones. Even though she had practically yelled it, no one paid her any mind.

She was suppose to be meeting this hot headed Avora huntress at the archery ranges to show her up in her bragging but her she was late... Again. Erade had got distracted in the Enclave copying a new map some trader had traded for a piece of glasswork or a talon sword. The young girl couldn't resist adding a new map to her growing collection. Her walls of her little room were starting to get cluttered.

Erade nodded to Valtrrik as she ran past him and made her way in the chilly weather to the ranges. She was mentally kicking herself for not putting on her vinati for a bit of extra warmth, but too late now. "Definitely going have to unearth my katinu, looks like its going to cool off quickly this season."

Erade was only a novice in archery but she was pretty sure she can wipe that sneer off of Azira's face. Right? Besides a little hunting excursion was the wager if she won, something she couldn't pass up on. Time to put what I've read in books to work! Erade thought to herself as she came up to the archery ranges.

The short girl looked around before seeing the Avora sitting on one of the benches. A big smile on her face, she made her way to her only to stop a bit before Azira. "Ready to lose?"

[Azira]

Azira watched as the Yasi approached, grinning broadly. She'd been wondering if the girl had chickened out but she'd had a fair idea that she wouldn't because of the wager. She'd decided that on the off chance the girl won that she'd bring her hunting. It wasn't a situation she wanted to think about because it would mean that her years of practice had failed her. Not only would it be humiliating but also extremely annoying because she'd have to get the girl excused from her lessons for a day and that meant dealing with people. She didn't like people. She rose to her feet as Erade approached and had to stop herself from scowling. Azira didn't like that this girl, who was a few years her junior, was a few inches taller than her. It was very irritating. What god had cursed her to be a short ass for the rest of her life? She didn't know but she wasn't pleased about it. It was often the subject of jokes, especially when people found out she hunted, and so as a result she'd started to avoid people after her Yasi-hood. It was a lot easier to avoid people than to smash in the face of every person who ticked her off. She focused on ignoring the height difference. "I thought you'd backed out, Erade, that you'd come to your senses and realised that I'm superior to you," Azira taunted, her expression smug. She tied her braids into a bun so that they were out of her way and picked up her bow. "But seeing as you're here, shall we begin? I'm sure you know that you must know I'm a born winner though so you shouldn't get your hopes up about that hunting trip," she told the girl as she turned to approach the firing wall. She regarded it thoughtfully, trying to decide how best to do this. "Okay how about this: we each get two attempts to hit the centre of the target from...three different distances. If we both manage to do that then we'll come up with something for a tiebreaker. Seeing as the range is empty today, we can use two targets each because I don't want to risk splitting my arrows," she explained, moving to stand in front of the first target. "You can take the second one then you can move to the fourth one while I move to the third. Will we start at eight feet from the target?" she asked. Without waiting for an answer, she walked to the distance she'd indicated and turned on the spot. Bow in hand, she removed an arrow from her quiver and nocked it. Azira pointed it at the target, took a deep breath and released it. It whooshed through the air and hit the centre of the target with a satisfying thunk. Smiling smugly, she moved to the third target and repeated the action, scoring another bullseye. Feeling satisfied with herself, she turned to watch Erade.

[Erade]

Azira stated the rules and didn't even give Erade a chance to agree to the terms before letting her first arrow fly. THUNK! First one was dead center. THUNK! another bulls eye. The cocky older girl turned around with a smug look on her face just oozing 'Hah! there is no chance, you are going to beat me, might as well give up now.'

Peck! she's good Erade mentally cursed to herself. "Well no point in backing out now, I have a hunting trip to win."

The yasi grimaced and made her way to the second target and took her place at 8 feet. Pulling an arrow from her quiver she nocked her arrow and took a lot longer than Azira to let her arrow go. Mainly to irritate Azira some but partially because she had a cramp in her arm, her wrist had stiffen up and couldn't let the arrow go.

Her recurve bow was still new, only have bought it on the first of autumn with her summer allowance. It wasn't seasoned and used like Azira's so it took extra strength to draw it. Extra strength the lanky little girl had very little of. Closing her eyes she finally let go of the arrow, it zip down the lane and plunked into the target. Unfortunately no where near the center.
The yasi was even lucky she hit the target at all. She went the the fourth target and tried again. This time with more success and hit a bullseye.

Confidence renewed she gave an internal celebration, She can definitely do this just need a lot of beginners luck.

[Azira]

Azira watched with amusement as the girl readied herself in front of the target. She took her sweet time taking the shot and it seemed as it she was actually struggling with the bow. She appraised the bow with a trained eye, noting the absence of any wear and tear. The hum of the string confirmed her suspicion. The bow was more or less brand new meaning that it was still stiff from lack of use. Erade's struggle with the bow meant that she missed the bullseye. She sniggered but the Yasi didn't seem to notice as she moved to the next target, Azira turning to follow her movement. She fared better on her second target, succeeding in hitting the target's centre. Now that the girl was done, she was able to retrieve her arrows, checking them carefully for signs of damage. Deciding that they could be reused, she carried them back to her first target, dropping one on the ground. "Twelve feet," she called, moving into position. She mocked the arrow and pointed the bow in one swift movement, releasing the arrow a little too early. It landed a few inches shy of the centre. Her cockiness had cost her the perfect shot. She scowled at the target as if it was at fault rather than her before retrieving her second arrow.  Azira was more cautious for this shot, taking the time to aim properly before shooting her arrow. It hit the centre with a thunk and a slight cracking sound. She winced at the crack. That arrow probably wasn't salvageable. She rested the bow against her shoulder and stopped to watch Erade's second round of shots. Let's see her do as well at this distance, she thought, watching the Yasi's movements closely.

[Erade]

Erade watched Azira closely as she made her next shots, maybe she can pick up a few pointers from her stance or anything. At twelve feet away from the target it seemed daunting, and the yasi was unsure she was capable of doing it at that distance, eight feet was hard enough.

The cocky older girl had slightly missed the center of her first target and Erade had to try hard not to do a little 'Ha ha in your face' dance. Besides this competition was far from being over. The shorter girl noticed Azira was a bit more cautious with her next shot and was awarded with another center shot. However by the sound of it, she put too much force into her shot and her arrow made an odd cracking sound. Azira's turn was over and was Erade's once again.

She went to the targets and pulled her arrows out like Azira had done before her. She looked down at them in her hand and paused. Erade wasn't sure if they were reusable or not. She didn't see any immediate cracks in the shaft and the arrow heads looked fine but she didn't want to risk her chance at winning by reusing them so she placed them on the ground.

Taking her mark at twelve feet, she drew her bow and nocked an arrow. Still struggling with it, her hands started to shake. A blush slowly crept across her face. Concentrate Erade! she all but yelled at herself. You can do this! show this Avora your not some stupid yasi and can actually do something! Her internal cheerleaders worked, because when she let go the arrow hit dead center. She wiped her sweaty hands on her bryda and made her way to the next target and hit bullseye again.

The game was tied.

[Azira]

Azira was impressed and a little annoyed. The girl had pulled off two perfect bullseyes from twelve feet, something that she hadn't succeeded in doing herself. It wasn't a good sign. Maybe she'd underestimated the Yasi, or maybe she'd been too cocky about her prowess with a bow. Either way it was coming back to bite her now. Erade was showing a little too much skill for her liking and it worried her. If she was bettered by a mere slip of a girl, nearly four years her junior then she'd die of humiliation. She'd never live it down. Azira approached her targets, pulling out the arrows and discarding the cracked one. She licked her lips a little nervously as she strode sixteen feet from the target. It was as far away as you could get from the targets on the Bent Arrow range. It was a difficult distance to shoot from. Endals could usually shoot further than that but they had gravity to help their arrow reach its target. This was different though. A straight shot. She wasn't very good at sixteen feet, she hit what she was aiming at half the time but the other half she was always off. As a result she was more than a little apprehensive. She swallowed a lump in her throat. "Sixteen," she called out, preparing her shot. Her hands had begun to shake slightly and it made aiming straight more than a little difficult. The worry about her shaking hands made them shake more and she took the shot before they could get any worse. The arrow landed halfway between the bullseye and the target's edge. Azira grimaced. Her chances weren't looking good. She moved to the next target, pulling another arrow from her quiver. Azira spent a few moments staring at the target, convincing herself of her superiority. You're a brilliant hunter, she told herself as she nocked the arrow. If you have trouble at 16 feet then how bad will she be? You have more experience that she does, Azira reassured herself as she lined up the shot. Her hands weren't shaking as much but even so she couldn't hit the bullseye. It was close though, only an inch or two out. So long as the Yasi didn't get two shots like that or, gods forbid, a bullseye then she'd be alright. If the girl did manage it,...she couldn't bear to think about it.

[Erade]

Erade barely paid attention to Azira's next round at sixteen feet. She was too busy being in a state of something between anxiety and excitement. She now in a full adrenaline rush and could barely hold still. Azira had missed the center of the target, somewhere in between the center and the edge, but her second shot was much better about an inch out from center.

Erade didnt even wait for the Avora to acknowledge her to begin her next round. She skipped over to the second and fourth targets to retrieve her arrows and then back to the sixteen mark. The short girl rolled her shoulders, they were starting to tense up from drawing her new bow. She silently vowed she would string it and draw it about 5 times before she went to bed and then again when she woke up.

Taking a deep breath, Erade drew her bow and aimed. At this point if she got two bullseye she would win this bet. Next opinion would be to tie then do a tiebreaker round but she wasn't sure she had enough 'oof' in her to last another round. Sixteen paces away from the target, was a daunting distance. Erade didnt want to doubt herself but she wasn't sure if she can pull off anything decent at this distance. This was like Master level distance and she was only novice. She released her arrow and closed her eyes, she was afraid to see where it would hit.

She heard the thunk of the arrow hitting the target and slowly opened her eyes. It wasn't a center but wasn't so bad she supposed, closer than Azira's first shot at this distance. It had hit within the fourth ring of the target, the ring just outside of center. Clearly running on nothing but beginners luck this whole time, Erade made her way to the next target.

Once again drawing her bow, nocking the arrow, she took aim. Her hands were starting to sweat again and her grip was loosening. The yasi made a silent prayer to any god or goddess who was willing to listen and provide a miracle. Leaving it to the fate of the gods she released the arrow.

[Azira]

Azira watched Erade closely as she skipped to her targets. Skipped! The girl certainly seemed to think that she had a good chance at this distance. She had to admire her confidence but it also made her feel a little nervous. The Yasi had already performed far better than Azira would ever have anticipated. They were a lot closer in skill than she ever would have guessed. She had good reason to worry. She had her pride and her reputation to think about. If she lost to this Yasi she'd die of embarrassment. But the girl hadn't won yet. Erade stood in front of her first target, nocking and drawing the bow as Azira watched. She held her breath, her heart fluttering in her chest as she watched her. The girl closed her eyes before releasing the arrow and Azira felt hopeful. If she was closing her eyes then she couldn't aim properly then she'd do terribly. At least so she would have thought but it turned out she was wrong. The arrow landed closer to the centre than hers had. That was a fluke, she tried to reassure herself as Erade moved to the second target. She didn't believe herself. She looked carefully at each of the targets seeing the arrows placements. Who am I kidding? I've lost or as good as, she thought, her lip trembling and she tried not to cry as she watched the Yasi's last shot.  She watched anxiously as the younger girl pulled back her bow string. She seriously considered praying for her to miss or to mess up but she didn't think any god or goddess would listen to her. Instead she stood frozen, her gaze fixed on the arrow as Erade released it. Time seemed to slow down as it soared towards the target. It seemed to take forever and when it did finally strike, Azira gaped at it in disbelief. She had to collapse onto the nearest bench for fear of fainting. It wasn't possible, it couldn't be possible. The girl had managed a bullseye.

[Erade]

Erade stood there for a few chimes before opening her eyes. She heard the arrow hit the target but was deathly afraid where it landed. Azira made no noise or movement to alert her if it was good or bad. She thought about it and since she didnt hear some form of sneer or jest from her it must mean it was a good shot. But was it good enough?

The yasi slowly crept open her eyes, one at a time and looked towards the target. There in the center of the target rested Erade's arrow. She couldn't believe it she actually had won against this hot headed Avora. She had practiced archery a few times before in her class and she knew a few advanced techniques only by means of reading some books in the enclave once. Coming out of her stupor, Erade wasn't sure if she should do a victory dance and rub it in the older girls face or be modest about it.

"Maybe something in between?" Erade concluded. She walked over to Azira who seemed to be in a daze still, sitting on the nearest bench.

"Good game, definitely didnt think I would have been able to win against you. You are alot better than me, I won by shear good luck it seems. So about that hunting trip.."Erade smirked.

OOC :

wasn't sure where/how you wanted to end this. >_<