[Flashback] Shooting, with a side of Friendship (Closed)

[Fenilen]

22nd of Summer, 509 AV

Tagged: Aidara and Sairque

Pull back the string.

A task easier said than done, considering the lack of muscle mass the boy possessed. With a groan of effort, the red-headed boy drew the string back on the longbow, an arrow clutched between his fingers. Pull! Pull like your life depended on it, like it someday might, Fenilen! With a sharp expulsion of breath, the Inarta let the string go only halfway through it's pull. The arrow showed this in its flight pattern, flying about ten feet before hitting the ground. An audible sigh left Fenilen's lips as he wiped the sweat from his brow, shaking his head. The glass beads on his earrings clinked slightly as he did so. He simply wasn't strong enough to get a full draw on the bow. What would he do if his life depended upon hitting something someday?

All he could do now was try again. A hand moved over his shoulder, two fingers claiming an arrow in their grasp as she brought it back over his shoulder, fiddling in a feeble attempt to get the notch of the arrow onto the string. A stream of curses was let loose before he finally did, and even then, the Inarta grumbled. One more try. Pull, Fenilen! Pull like you had seen your father and your sister do! The man groaned in exertion once more, the muscles in his chest and arms rippling under the strain. He gained centimeter by precious centimeter. Every movement was a war. He had to do this.

There! It was fully drawn! The wood of the bow was bent from the sheer force of the pull, and with a grace, Fenilen released. The bow snapped back into position, and the arrow whistled through the air, singing in tandem with the call of the bowstring. He had done it! The man did not even wait to see if the arrow had hit its target before crying out in joy!

But the arrow missed its target. Not even slightly, it missed by about five feet. The cheer was cut out by a groan, and then an "ow", as it finally processed that he had cut himself. A finger on his left hand was cut open, undoubtedly from the arrowhead. Fenilen grumbled. The hand was brought to his parted lips, and Fenilen sucked on the wound firmly, making a popping noise as the finger was brought away again.

He simply couldn't do anything right! The frustrated Inarta sat down on one of the stone benches, leaning his bow and quiver against the side, sighing deeply as he stretched out his legs. He had to wait for the wound to stop bleeding before he could continue. Otherwise, it wouldn't stop, considering it was right over a joint. More grumbling and swearing from Fenilen. He hated superficial wounds that bled. He hated blood. He hated bleeding.

At least he wasn't climbing a tree. Or surrounded by bats.

[Aidara]

"I haven't had much practice myself, but I've sat and watched the riders practice on the targets. Try lifting your elbow towards your ear a little more, it might give you a bit more leverage to pull back on the string." The womans voice came from behind Fenilen, a pleasant cheery tone that one could tell was said with a smile before even turning to look at the speakers face. Aidara had her bow cradled against her shoulder, the quiver hanging loosely in her other hand as she quietly stopped to watch the man shoot. It was never a good idea to surprise someone as they were struggling with a bow and arrow. Addy had her hair tied in an extravagant knot atop her head, embellished with a bright green scarf that offset the green sparkle of her eyes. Glass beads tinkled among her locks whenever she moved her head, a few curls floating artfully down to frame her face. A smile was more often than not upon her lips, her skin pale with spots of color rising to her cheeks when she became excited or especially happy. She wore a simple outfit of black bryda and a white vinati, knee high leather boots and a leather wrist guard to protect her skin from the bowstring. "I'm Aidara. I hope you don't mind me watching, I just came out to practice myself. I'm horrible" She laughed as she said this, flashing him another grin as she stepped forward to offer her hand for a shake. She couldn't help a quick up and down glance as she appraised the man before her, an interested sparkle in her eye, though she said nothing. "I'm surprised we haven't met before this. Are you an Endal? I'm practicing medicine, but I hope to make a bond, one day..." She left the subject hanging, her head tilting to the side as she studied his face. Addy was a social butterfly and she was sincerely surprised that she had not come into contact with Fenilen before this. "Oh..!" She had noticed the slow drip of blood from the cut on his finger, now picking out a smear on his lips from when he had sucked a the scrape. "Here... I can help you with that, if you'd like." She stepped forward yet again, putting herself ever closer to the man, her hand half raised as if she expected him to turn down her offer of help.

[Sairque]

With far less ado than the first girl, a carbon copy of her entered the open space, coming around a corner and leaning against a balustrade. The newcomer, with her blood red locks, lighter strands accentuating, neatly folded into one long thick braid, quietly eyed her sister and the boy who might be her sister’s next fun little roll in the hay. The white bryda flowed gently in the breeze, they were bright in the sunlight and the green embroidery that created swirling, floating patters in the material was hard to pick out. The matching vinati top was a reversal in color, the material green. Both the vinati and the bryda had a scale-like laying of flat glass beads along the hems, or waist band. Poking out from beneath the flowing bryda were…two pale white feet. No shoes. Must be her day off.

Honestly, she wasn’t really the quiet type, but her sister was blabbing so much that she couldn’t get a word in edgewise. Hopefully, Addy would let the man answer, at least. Or he would find having his ear chatted off was worth having his small wound patched right up. Sai shook her head, look at her twin, using her Gnosis to pick up the fellas. The stone was cool under her fingers, the sun warm on her midsection, and she was more dressed and outfitted for a stroll through Wind Reach than practicing her archery. There was little time to enjoy nice weather on the top of Skyinarta, and she was determined to. No reason to turn down an opportunity to mingle and get a little practice done.

A soft cough preceded her appearance at her sister’s side. White teeth flashed in a friendly smile, her golden eyes lighting on the young archer. “Hi, I’m Sairque. And Addy is really good with the healing thing, if you want to resume your practice.” Not that Sai had seen any of it, having come around too late and only witnessing her sister introducing herself and then laying the charm on. Hopefully, the man wouldn’t be overwhelmed by the abrupt appearance of the two women, offering advice and help and generally interrupting the practice.

Sai fingered her sister’s bow. They could share.

[Fenilen]

Fenilen flinched in fright as he heard a voice behind him, eyes quickly scanning for the source of the voice. Source located. A particularly pretty girl, in fact. His eyes followed her silently as she approached, studying her figure, her gait, her stance, and when she spoke, his ears absorbed the tone of her voice, committing it to memory. He was odd like that. Odd, and perhaps creepy, depending on how one spun the story. Ah, Goddess, she had asked his name. He had to speak now. The Inarta hated speaking with strangers.

"I am Fenilen, son of Maverick, brother to Emory and Nyali," he spoke, a smile playing it's way across his pale features. It looked somewhat humorous, considering there was blood smeared across one of his lips. He shook his head when she mentioned whether or not he minded her watching. Hell, maybe he would be able to pull something off to impress her. That would do wonders for the man's self esteem. Of course, she had already seen him struggling to draw back the bow. Embarrassing.

"I don't come here much," was all she got from Fenilen when she commented on how she hadn't seen him before. He shifted in the bench, moving his legs off of the side so he could rotate to see the woman. Curious. She appeared as if she were dressed for something important. Had he forgotten some sort of important event? When she inquired if he was an Endal or not, he shook his head. "Avora. Glassworker," was his curt response. Ah, her eyes had met his. He looked away awkwardly.

Then she brought up the issue of his finger. When she mentioned it, he held it up, examining it for a moment before he remembered when he had suffered it. Only a moment ago. Silly Fenilen, so forgetful. A curious eyebrow was raised above the other as she commented on how she could help with his finger. Hell, worth a shot. Uncertainly, the man held his left hand out, wounded finger extended, uninjured fingers retracted.

When Sairque joined her sister, Fenilen's eyes danced over to her, examining her in much the same way he had her sister. Or at least, he assumed they were sisters. They were both hauntingly beautiful. Gah, if only he wasn't so lacking in social graces. It was two votes for Aidara's 'healing', though, so at least that decision felt slightly more assured. He spoke, giving the new comer, Sairque-- pretty name--, his name. "I am Fenilen, son of Maverick, brother to Emory and Nyali," it was a greeting almost identical to the prior greeting. Social interaction was obviously not one of his fortes.

[Aidara]

"It is very nice to meet you, Fenilen, son of Maverick, brother to Emory and Nyali." He was cute, Aidara smiled to herself as she watched a shadow of his internal struggle flash in his eyes. There was something about him...it was different. It was refreshing. Aidara had little sense of personal space, and when she felt drawn to somebody, which happened more often than not, she had a tendency to get right up in their face. She was a very soft and sweet person, however, so such actions rarely came off as aggressive. This time she had the feeling that Fenilen would not be so comfortable around her. She was a persistent creature, and always tried her hardest to get what she wanted. But she tried not to stare at him for too long, so she cast a look around the clearing. Her sweeping glance paused when she saw how far off his arrow had been from the mark and decided not to mention it, for it was unlikely that she was going to do much better, but Aidara had hardly any self esteem and was always selling herself short. Her bow looked much to large for her and probably took more strength than it seemed like she possessed to fully draw, but she wanted to build up the muscles in her arms. What better way than to start with something too heavy, right? At his offered finger, Aidara slid onto the bench next to him, gently taking his hand in her own. Turning it this way and that she observed the cut, careful not to cause him any pain. It wasn't until Sai introduced herself that Addy lifted her gaze. She was so intent on her new friend that she didn't realize her sister had followed and made an appearance. "Hiya, Sai. Hold my bow while I try and help Fen" She glanced at him as she said this, raising a delicate brow in his direction as she spoke the nickname. "Can I call you Fen?" Looking back at her sister and nodding towards the bow and quiver, still on the ground, she raised the other brow. "..Please?" It wasn't really a question. As Sai assured Fenilen of her healing prowess, Aidara chuckled softly to herself, shaking her head. The soft tinkling of the glass beads matched that little laugh of hers. "Unfortunately there is nothing I can do for this finger except remove it completely. I'm sorry." Green eyes raised, captured and held the mans own gaze, twinkling with a laughter that she suppressed this time. Aidara knew she had to be careful with this man, he seemed rather skittish. No flashy displays of inert healing gifts today. From within the knot of dark red hair piled atop her head, Addy withdrew a small, thin strip of silk. With a snap, she shook it out into the wind....and tied it around Fenilen's injured finger. Releasing his hand, she made a few hocusy-pocusy- movements with her fingers- as if she was pretending to do magic- and then exclaimed "POOF! I fixed it." Another tug to make sure that the fabric was secure, and she flashed him another brilliant grin. "Just keep that on until we're done playing, okay?" She used the plural intentionally. "You have to keep the cut clean or it's going to get infected and you'll have even more trouble using your finger." She always stated the obvious when treating a patient. One never knew what "common sense" really encompassed anymore. Turning to her sister, Aidara rose from the bench and stepped over to retrieve her bow and arrows. "What're you doing here? Going to show me up - again - on the archery range in front of cute boys? Thanks, Sai, thanks"

[Sairque]

There was something endearing about the jumpy boy, the way he examined both she and her sister, and instead of being a creeper when he opened his mouth, he was all cute and stiff, clearly losing all sight of his wits when he needed to communicate. A gentle touch, that's what he needed.

Sai answered him right after his introduction. "Fenilen, I'll leave you in my sister's sensual hands for the moment," her voice was slow, as though she savored each word and let it drop from her lips like a dollop of honey from the spoon. No, she could have used the word 'capable' or 'healing' but 'sensual' was just so much better, and her lips curled around it so nicely. Yes, she would have to use that word more often when talking of her sister, see how it made people react.

It might be laziness, it might be dependency, but Sai was going to let Addy warm the boy up to them. She gladly took the bow from her sister, a disgruntled expression on her face when she tested the weight. When did Addy get so bloody strong? Charm, brains, and brawn? The disgruntled look was transferred to her twin as Sia reached around and snagged a few arrows. A hand nonchalantly brushed over the seated boys shoulder, squeezing briefly, as she went by.

Having moved away, taking up a stance to draw the string and knocked arrow back, there was a snortle of laughter, abrupt, cutting through the day's air gracelessly, right after Addy announced the need for amputation. Good job, Sai, leave the boy to be tormented by your sister, way to be way off base about her skills with comforting others. A gentle touch, that's what he was getting.

The string was drawn back, the tight and visible muscles of her shoulders knotting and bunching. The target, the one with the arrow laying on the ground about five feet away, was taken up in her sights. Feet were shifted slightly, squaring her up to the target, and then her shoulders were rotated a bit to take into account the intermittent gusts of wind. This bloody bow was a workout. Inhale. Exhale. Hold. Release. The string snapped forward, the bent ends of bow straightening quicker than the eye could see. The arrow was barely in the target, her arms had started shaking just prior to release, it was low and to the right. Pathetically, slowly, it drooped and then dropped to the ground.

Clearly, it had been entirely too long since she had practiced. Spending all her time bouldering was keeping her in shape, but archery muscles weren't climbing muscles, apparently.

The bow was held at her side in her left hand, her right hand was rubbing the inside of her left forearm where the string had whipped the skin. At least, her fingers were so callused that holding the string hadn't bothered them at all. Sai glanced up as her sister approached and left Fenilen on the bench.

"Yes, Addy, that was the plan," she answered wryly, handing the bow over to her carbon copy and skirting around the few arrows she had placed on the ground for later use. "But at the last minute I decided that instead I should make you look like the expert you are. All you have to do is hit the target," she mock whispered conspiratorially, golden eyes resting on their new red headed man friend. While Addy, hopefully, showed the other two archers up, Sai made her way over to sit next to Fenilen. No sudden movements, just a wink.

"You said you were a glassblower? What's that like?" she asked, suddenly curious about the profession/trade. Golden eyes rested intently on his for the briefest of moments, then she leaned back, resting her weight on her hands and looking to the sky. Eyes closed, the thick braid draping back, her neck extended, pale skin warming under the sun.

[Fenilen]

A frown played across the boy's face when he watched her eyes fall upon the arrow that had landed a whole five feet from the target. However, by the time she turned back around, this frown had vanished, the best neutral expression he could muster place on his face. Of course, he looked nervous and uncertain, but that was besides the point. So much for training alone, where no one could mock him for his mistakes. Now he had an audience of two women-- sisters, at that. One could simply feel the luck radiating from Fenilen's body.

Sensual. Just the way she had said the word made Fenilen feel ever so slightly less easy. This uneasiness made him almost flinch as she touched his shoulder, but he remained still. Tense, but still. He even manged to send her a small smile when she walked by him. That was an accomplishment. Despite his skittishness, he couldn't deny that a little part of him was enjoying the contact. Only a little part, though.

Fen. Cute. He already had a nickname. He nodded slightly, after a sad attempt to speak... which ended in silence. The words just simply hadn't wanted to surface. He couldn't blame them, a part of him wanted to scurry away from this little ordeal. Still, maybe he could do something to impress them, Maybe if he tried hard enough he could? Maybe then, he would feel more confident about himself...

Wait. Amputation!? What!? The Inarta frowned, recoiling ever so slightly in horror, drawing his hand back defensively. Here was a twenty year old man, as gullible as a five year old. His eyes met hers, filled with sheer, unadulterated terror. Wait. The look in her eyes. She was joking, suppressing a laugh. A look of humiliation crossed his face as he silently resigned, putting his hand back in her tender care. When the mummification of his finger was complete, he examined it throughly, flexing his finger once or twice to test its mobility in this wrap of silk.

His eyes danced from her work up to her, and he smile. "Thank you," he said formally. He was always formal around strangers. Force of habit. When she began spoking to her sister, Fenilen's eyes danced over to her. It took all his willpower to keep from shifting nervously as she mentioned cute boys. Couldn't be him. Nope. Of course, there was no one else in sight, but *that* was besides the point...

and then the sister approached. and she winked. What was he doing that made them wink at him and otherwise make physical contact with him? Whatever it was, he needed to do it more. Or less. He was pretty much divided half and half on that call.

Then, she unintentionally plucked at the strings of the boy's heart. Glassblowing was his love, his works his pride and joy. He grinned at the woman, and then he began speaking.

"Imagine the heat of the volcano bombarding your chest as you remove molten glass from the crucibles. Imagine shaping the soft, scorching hot semi-liquid into whatever shape you seem fit, spinning it as the block cuts off the unwanted liquid and the marver smooths the shape. You can make works more beautiful than anything you can imagine, but it is an art of heart break as much as it is one of success. There a more than a million ways that the piece you poured so much time and effort into can break. It can cool too quickly and shatter, you can drop it, you can separate it from pipe incorrectly... Oh, this list just goes on and on," Fenilen sighed deeply. It was obvious that he knew this heartbreak all too well. His green eyes fell upon Sairque, examining her as she stretched out slightly. It took conscious effort to pry his eyes away from her, and then he just looked awkwardly at the ground.

[Aidara]

Aidara shook her head and made a shooing motion at her sister, who walked away to join Fen on the bench without another word. "All you have to do is hit the target" The woman attempted to mock her sisters slow drawl as she repositioned the arrows in the ground in front of her. "More like 'don't mess up or I'll make fun of you for about a week.'" Continuing to grumble under her breath, Addy stood the bow up, resting one end on top of her boot while she checked the tightness of the string on the other. Next, she adjusted the wrist guard she wore, tightening a lace here, adjusting a strap there until everything was -just- right. As much as she loathed to do so, Aidara laid her bow down on the grass and grabbed her left elbow with her right hand, twisting with the stretch before doing the same with the other side. It had been a few days since she'd last practiced, and experience told her that if she didn't take the few moments to stretch, she would regret it later. Though, she did feel rather foolish as she stretched, for neither of her other companions had done so before trying their hand at the reigning champion so far today day, the archery targets. Aidara couldn't help but take a quick glance over at the pair as she bent down to retrieve her bow. What she saw made her pause and stare. Fen was practically talking Sai's ear off. Green eyes widened and blinked compulsively multiple times, her lips parting slowly as her mouth hung agape. Normal people shied away from direct contact with her sister, at first. She got many a strange look when she would run right up and grab her sisters arm in public, those around her flinching as if they were afraid of the punch that normally would have come. But Sai would never hit her...again. "Normal" was the key word, however. Fen was far from normal, as was becoming more and more apparent. Completely baffled as to why she had gotten such formal responses, despite her charms and smiles, while Sai got his life story....Well, she assumed it was his life story. She couldn't actually hear what they were saying. But he'd been talking for what seemed like minutes now. Complete....and utter....disbelief. A rosy color flooded Addy's cheeks as she stared at the two, her nostrals flaring as her lips pursed up into a pout. Finishing her stooping motion, she grabbed up her bow and whirled towards the targets. Breathing heavily by now, it took her a moment to compose herself before she reached for her first arrow. Careful to avoid crushing the fletching, Aidara knocked the shaft against the string. With eyes closed, she inhaled deeply and raised the bow in front of her. It was really much, much to large but she handled it with cool familiarity. Opening her eyes, Addy had nothing but the target in her sights. Twenty paces away, she turned her body parallel to her target, facing towards the left, and her seated companions. Yes, she was left handed. Squaring off her hips and planting her feet, she raised her left elbow towards her ear. Another deep breath and she began to draw the string. While the other two had struggled with this, Aidara pulled back gracefully and held the string taut all the way back near her ear. And she held it there for a good matter of minutes, feeling the strain of her muscle as it bunched against the force of keeping the bow drawn. Her exhale of breath and the twang of the bowstring as it snapped against her wrist guard with its release came simultaneously, while a few seconds later the distinct thud of an arrow burying it's self deep into the target seemed to echo around the clearing. Aidara hadn't even paused to see if her arrow hit, or how close to the center it had come, she was already knocking another. Inhale, pull, hold, release and exhale, like she had first watched Sai do years ago. Four, five, six times in a row this happened, all punctuated by a muted thud form the other side of the clearing. Finally, when her arms began to grow weary and cautious to not overdo herself, Aidara lowered her bow. Unstrapping her wrist guard and rubbing feeling back into her arm, she turned back towards her companions for the first time. Red curls had broken free of their bonds atop her head, framing her face, which was flushed and glowing with her grin. Her chest heaved from exertion and she panted as she spoke, her green gaze locked on her sister. "All you have to do is hit the target."

[Sairque]

Addy's mocking attempts received nothing but a crooked smile tossed negligently over one bare shoulder. Sibling rivalry was always in full swing...on most levels. On apparent levels.

It took very little to prod the Inartan woman into physical contact. Pretty much just being another Inarta did it. Though, there was something super cute about the very, very, uncomfortable boy. He was different than everyone else; while it could be unsettling if he didn't warm up, it was slightly refreshing. Or, at least, she was predicting it would be refreshing eventually. Right now, his stuffy befuddlement was amusing and endearing, and she imagined that old women would want to squeeze his little cheeks and make nonsensical sounds of adoration.

The disbelief and jealousy Sai was picking up from her twin was carefully ignored by the flight leader. Instead, she paid attention to the abruptly gregarious boy on the other end of her bench. Unfortunately, she didn't have the luxury to stare at him, to have a physical manifestation of her utter shock. Or to tease him, which was her second reaction.

Face turned to the sun, she opened her eyes enough to catch the expression of absolute adoration, the unfettered grin, and the way his green eyes shone a path straight into that briefly displayed soul of his. A soul marred by the other half of the coin, a heartbreak that strengthened his love tenfold. What an interesting soul.

The thunk...thunk...thunk...thunk of Addy's arrows hitting the target played a three count cadence in the background of their chat. Sai had closed her eyes, Fen's examination went unnoticed. Once it was clear he was done speaking of his own accord, Sai felt it was safe to ask another question. "What sort of pieces do you craft? Windows, mirrors, beads, figures? Personally, I like marbles." Not that he asked, but she had the feeling that she would have to volunteer any information he was to learn of her.

Addy would be happy to see that Sai had payed absolutely no attention to her showing off. That smug grin on her face might have been caught by Fen, by Sai was busy sun bathing and having a delightful conversation with their new friend. The new friend that Addy hadn't been able to put at ease. Sibling rivalry was rife on so many shallow levels.

[Fenilen]

Aidara. She was upset, or angered by something. Or surprised. Any of the three seemed to describe what was going on in her head right now, from what he had seen. She had looked over at them, mouth hanging agape, cheeks a gorgeous (but worrying) shade of red, before she had turned around and begun firing. Or, well, she wasn't firing. She was holding the string in its drawn position, as if she was drawing out pain, bringing some sort of odd torture unto herself. The man frowned deeply.

Then, Sai's question stole his attention away again, if only for a brief moment. "Glasses, vases, urns. Simple containers," Fenilen answered slowly, turning his head to look at Aidara again. She had begun firing now, but he still felt uncomfortable. She shouldn't be firing that much. It couldn't be healthy. "Just a moment, please," he proclaimed, rising to his feet.

He approached Aidara silently, clearing his throat, speaking softly. "Stop," was all he said, standing next to her. But she continued. He repeated himself again. "Stop." this time louder, with more authority. Nothing. He took another two steps forward, closing his hand around her drawing hand when she went to draw a new arrow.

"Stop." He repeated again, making eye contact with her as he said it firmly. Forreasons unknown to even him, a spark of confidence emerged in the pale Inarta. A hand drifted from his side to her face, tucking away a particularly thick red curl. Fenilen then spoke once more. "Sit down. Deep breathes. It's not smart to overexert yourself," his eyes held contact with hers for a while longer. Then. he flashed a smile, turned, and walked back to the bench, motioning for her to follow him.

Even he didn't know why he did what he did. He simply had, and now he would pay the price... which he was already paying. His arm was shuddering almost uncontrollably, and Fenilen's face only stayed clear as long as it did due to sheer will. It still turned bright red in the end.The man settled back into his seat with an "ooof" noise, and he smiled slightly as Sai. "Apologies." was all he said.