Flashback A Lesson in Stabbing (Akua)

[Tinnok]

A Lesson in Stabbing
15th of Spring, 508 A.V.

It was a clear morning, heat beating down through the crowded canopy, and Tinnok found herself miraculously done with morning chores early. Much of the clan had gone to the city for supplies, check in with members currently in the army, and various other things. Tinnok had been tasked with looking after a slightly sullen Rarik, who was upset about not being able to go along, and a mood she couldn't quite discern from Akua, who was fiddling with his club.

Chores done, most everyone gone. Tinnok grabbed Rarik by the skin of his neck and dragged him over to Akua.

"AGH! Stop, stop it Tin, AGGGH." He flailed, trying to deliver a backwards kick to either her legs or rump area. The half breed simply grinned at the attempt, twisting easily out of his grasp, wrenching his arm the wrong way and pulling up and in her left knee to deliver a much better positioned kick to the back of his knee, effectively collapsing the younger boy.

"Come on pouty face, stop laying about and lets get training."

"My arms are tired from carrying the water buckets." Rarik whined, trying to get up, but another kick from his sister to the small of his back planted him face first in the mud. Snarling like a wild animal he rotated and grabbed her foot, trying to get her off balance. Tinnok gasped in mock horror at this turn around, bouncing shakily on her free foot.

"Oh, Rare's superior tactics has surpassed the weak abomination, oh, OH! SHE'S GOING DOWN!" And with that she collapsed her full weight onto Rarik's stomach, sending the air from his lungs, yanking his arms to his sides and proceeding to tickle his arm pits.

"AAHHH, Ah-hahaha, HAHAHA-, stop! I can't- hahaha I can't breathe! I GIVE UP!"

Tinnok relinquished at the final shout, leaping up and grinning triumphantly. "Now get up, you embarassment of a Myrian, you don't see Akua whining like that, right Akua?" She gave her other brother a wink, then took a measured step back, hand upon her chin in a purposefully thoughtful posture.

"So, what do we want to train with today? Bows, daggers, swords?" She left the question hanging in the air, glancing at Akua to make the final decision.
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[Akua]

Syna's rays beat down on the jungle floor, but the Tempered Steel clan was busy and active like always. Many of his family had gone to the city to gather supplies and the like. Leaving the second youngest Myrian with his older brother and sister. The three shared a bond that could only be explained by the way Myrians lived. Their mother all but ignored the two males and his sister was not marked by their Goddess Myri. The little Akua was pondering things over in his mind, twisting and turning his wolfs teeth club in his hand. It had never left his side, he had more trust in his weapon then he did his own siblings sometimes. Pricking the end of each point with his finger he turned his head around as Rarik was being dragged closer to him. Tinnok had finished her chores early which meant that they could train. A wide smile flashed upon Akua's face as he watched Rarik being controlled by his sister, dragging him by his neck with and arm twisted behind his back. It was always entertaining for Akua to watch Rarik be tossed around by Tinnok. The little Myrian always jumped at the chance to train with the half breed, his brother however wasn't always so enthusiastic.

Akua cocked his head to the side at Rarik's complaints. He licked his lips, his eyes glancing over to his sister. A little laugh escaped his lips as his brother went face first into the mud. Then it began, the mock fight between the older siblings. The club wielder waiting for his chance to spring in. His ears twitched at the word abomination. Then the tickling begain, Akua stood on his feet. Twisting and turning to make sure they were caked in mud. "Akua never whines! Whining doesn't win fights" he said running forward and planting both his feet on his brothers back. "Rari is just a fishman. Always lazy" he teased sticking his tongue out before hopping off of him.

Akua turned back to face his sister. His club resting over his shoulder, he tapped his chin. "Hmmmmm." He paced back and forth a few times, acting like it was a hard question to figure out. "Rari is better with bows then me and Tino always wins with dagger and swords. So I choose.... All of the above" he shouted. Swinging his club wildly, barely missing the shoulder of Rarik. A child like laugh escaped his lips as he spun around and fell on his butt.

[Tinnok]

Tinnok laughed merrily as Akua stomped on Rarik's back, driving the point home. "Precisely, whining is foolish and no true Myrian warrior does it." A rude quip could have been made at that point, but Rarik had more respect for his sister than that, just muttering curses, and rising to his feet once Akua had hopped off.

The half breed's eyebrows rose as Akua answered her question with a powerful swing of the club he rarely let go of, yanking Rarik's shoulder so that none of those teeth caught flesh...this time. "That's a lot of weapons for one day, little brother. How about we start off with archery, since as you say Rarik is better at it, and if we have time you show us how to throw around that club of yours?"

She could tell her compromise had piqued Rarik's interest, always happy to practice something he was good at. "Come on Akua, let's get you a smaller bow and some targets." She raced off to a longhouse that was mostly kept for storage, inside it didn't take long to find three targets, stuffed with plant matter and with faded rings around them to judge an archer's accuracy. She rustled around for the stands and passed one to Akua, rolling the three targets out first, then grabbing the other two stands and setting them up before heaving the targets one by one into place. Meanwhile, Rarik had been grabbing his and Tinnok's longbows, arrows, and a more apt shortbow for Akua

Rarik helped Tinnok move the targets into a more or less straight line against the side of a long house just in case any of their shots strayed, and the two older siblings grabbed a few arrows and began to measure a distance of 30 meters away from the targets. Once this was marked with a line, Tinnok gave Akua his shortbow, her own longbow slung over her shoulder.

"Okay this is a little bow for you, okay, Akua? Do you remember how to use it?" She pulled her own bow from over her shoulder and snatched an arrow from the ground. "First you have to figure out how it feels best to hold your bow. For me its holding it with my right hand, and drawing the string with my left, but you could be different." She gripped her bow with her right and held the fletching of her arrow with two fingers, swinging the arrow into the smooth groove of her bow and holding it up with her right hand. "Then, waay before you shoot your bow you have to stand correctly, place your whole body so your side is facing the target, and your feet are pretty straight out from your body." She demonstrated, placing her body perpendicular, or relatively so to the left most target, Akua centered in front of the middle one. Her body faced away from him and she placed her left foot a bit in front of her right one, angling her head to get a clear line down towards the target with her left hand pulling her bowstring slightly back along her body. "Just try that out, and we'll move a bit closer to the target, your bow is quicker than ours, but can't shoot quite as far." Of course a shortbow could cover the 30 meters easily, but she didn't want to tell Akua he probably couldn't get his arrow that far, even Myrian males had their pride.

Beside them Rarik snorted "He's going to get bored and angry and mess up, Tin, good luck having the patience for that."

"Shut up Rar, and Akua, don't listen to him, remember? He's a whiner." Rarik stuck out his tongue over Akua's head and she returned it in kind.
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[Akua]

he pouted slightly while trying to keep up with his older sister. Akua took the stand in his hand dragging it towards the side of the long house and standing it up. He walked back over to Rarik and looked up at him. "Rari why are you so tall?" he asked. He looked at the bows in Rarik's hand. Knowing that the smaller one was for him he sighed a bit.

Taking his shortbow from his sister, he sat his club down at his feet. Careful to make sure it didn't move away from him. Once he was comfortable with where it was he straightened up again. Flicking the string with his fingers. His grip tight around the actual curve of the bow. He nodded looking over his shoulder at his sister. He lifted it up, pointing it at the target without and arrow notched. He rolled his tongue in his mouth before lowering it again. He switched hands, now facing his sister. He squared his feet brining it back up. "It feels the same ether way." he said, he watched her notch her own arrow.

She stood center of her target. Her left foot leading her right, Her head tilted in. He watched her pulled the string back along her body. He tried to mimic her. Bringing his bow up, his chest facing towards her. He notched an arrow, he took a breath and tried to center himself. Sliding his left foot forward, and his right foot back. He tilted his head in. His vision slightly blurred by the bow itself. He pulled it back. Finger feeling the fletching rubbing against them. He released, the arrow flew forward. The arrow flew unstably, rocking and twisting in the air before the nose dived down. Crashing into the dirt and the rear sticking up. Akua stomped in frustration, a grumble escaping his lips. His ears perked at his brothers snarky comment. Ignoring his sisters words. Akua dropped the bow, scooping up his club he ran forward towards Rarik. His head lowered, charging towards his waist.

[Tinnok]

"What did I tell you Tin?!" Rarik cried as Akua abandoned his bows to charge his brother. Rarik, who had been assuming a posture very similar to Tinnok's, dropped his, trying to catch Akua, but not in time to avoid a pretty potent head butt straight to his stomach, driving him backwards. "Back you little Akila hound, back I say!!" He grunted and grabbed Akua's shoulders, close to the neck, half pushing the boy away, half strangling him.

"Akua, knock it off, Rarik you too, why don't you try teaching him, you're just as good with a bow as I am." This was not precisely true, but if Tinnok had learned anything in her short life, it was to underplay one's skills, it benefited her in numerous ways, not the least of which was to convince others to do things because they thought themselves better than her.

"Come on, Ku, get off of me and we'll try again, you have to listen to Tin, she told you to do the stance before you shoot, there's a lot more to how you stand and aim than it looks." If he could pry Akua off of him, Rarik would take up his bow once more. He held the opposite of how Tinnok did, gripping with the left hand and pulled back with his right, giving Akua a more open display of the stance as his posed body faced him. "You stood right, but you have to be careful when nocking your arrow." He pulled one from a quiver and dipped his bow at an angle towards the ground. "Always make sure your bow and arrow are facing the ground, so if you do accidentally shoot an arrow off-" To provide an example he let the only partially drawn bow loose and the shaky arrow buried part of its head inthe ground before tumbling over. "The arrow never flies anywhere you don't want it to." He plucked the arrow from the earth and repeated. "Then, when you have it in line with the groove or notch in your bow place one finger over the end of the arrow, and two fingers below it, so you can hold it steady." He pointed his arrow at the ground and slowly released the tension of his bow, placing it down so he could help Akua with his form.

Tinnok had a pleased smirk on her face that Rarik stuck his tongue out at. He would help show Akua how to hold it properly. "Also you have to keep an eye on the fletching, they all look the same, but with some arrows you'll have two parts that are one color, and one that is different, say when people use macaw feathers, and two are red, one yellow. This means that the one of a different color should be turned away, so when you loose an arrow, none of the fletching catches on the nock, or delays your shot in anyway."

Tinnok walked over, her own bow now notched, showing Akua her own arrow. She stood poised in the middle of the three targets, placed her feet perpendicular to the target, notched her bow at an angle with the ground, pulled her left hand, straining the bow string absolutely taut, her fingers and the fletching brushing her face. Akua could see the strain such a large bow put on his sister, whose muscles were not as strong as Rarik's currently were. Her head turned, glaring down the sight, and she steadied her breathing, aimed towards the center target, a bit off from it, and released her arrow.

Because of the power of her shot, the arrow shot across the straightaway with ease, careening into the motionless target. It was not as close to the haphazardly painted red circle in the center, about half way between it and the edge, but from the angle she had been shooting, Tinnok decided to consider it a success.

"Alright Ku, move a bit closer to the targets, and now you try." Tinnok nodded her encouragement, both siblings eager to see Akua's tries, whether they be success or failure.
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[Akua]

Akua continued to scramble on top of his brother. Fighting against his brothers hands before they pushed him back. "I am scarier then an Akila hound! I am Akua of the Tempered Steel!" he roared in his brothers face as he felt the pressure of the older males hands on his neck. He stopped turning to face his sister as she barked her command. "Sorry Tino" he said. He looked over his shoulder and stuck his tongue out at his older brother before standing up and walking back over to the bow that he had discarded earlier. He looked at his brother then down at the bow, taking it back in his hand he said "Fine." Waiting for his brothers instructions he glanced over at Tinnok.

He watched his brother, remaining silent as his brother stood in front of him. Akua did his best to mimic his stance. Taking the bow in his right hand, he pulled back with his left. "Nocking" he mumbled under his breath as he let the string slowly go back to its original stance. He watched his brother shoot the arrow again, spinning like his had before it crashed into the ground. He looked down at the arrows, noticing the different feather colors that his brother had mentioned. He nodded in understanding and grabbed another arrow. He stood there, letting his brother adjust his stance as he saw fit. He then watched his sister as the stood. Arrow notched on her bow, he watched the strain that she had to endure to pull the string back. In a few ticks, he watched the arrow fly forward. Piercing the target that his sister was aiming at. He looked at his own bow now.

He followed his sisters advice and moved closer. Trying to get himself into the stance that his brothers had just showed him. The arrow's head just ahead of his fingers, one over the top and two below it, the fletching in his hand. The colored feather turned away from the string. He pulled back, a breath filling his lungs. He released it, the arrow flying through the air with a resounding whistle. The tip of it grazing the side of the target before it hit the long hut, bouncing off and falling to the ground. The little Myrian quickly reached for another arrow and tried again. He was determined to prove his brother wrong. To prove that he could do this just as well as anyone could. He re-notched the arrow much like he had before. One finger above and two below, he pulled the bow string back, the feather brushing against his cheek. He stood there for a few ticks.

Taking aim at the target itself. He breathed in and out, trying his best to ignore the outside world around him. It was only him and his target. He released watching the arrow fly through the air again. With a thud it stuck into the target. The young Myrians eyes widened in pride. The arrow was not anywhere close to the target. But it had stuck and to him that was a success. The Myrian jumped up and down in excitement. He turned to his siblings with a wide and silly grin. "I did it! Akua of the Tempered Steel! Master of the bow!" he said sticking both arms in the air still holding the bow. "See Rari! I told you I could do it! One day I'll be better then you. You'll see" he said grinning stupidly still. He turned to Tinnok, hoping for approval or praise of some sort.

[Tinnok]

After she had shot her arrow, Tinnok watched Akua carefully. Despite his playful nature, she saw the same determination within him that many Myrian children had. It was customary for one person to learn many weapons within their life, and to a Myrian, each new weapon was a welcome challenge, some harder than others, only making them more worthwhile to learn. Though she could often be considered pitiable, it was her that pitied the barbarian children who had no such drive, that were soft and knew nothing of trying to learn and master a weapon to keep up with their peers who were all doing the same

In the time that these thoughts had crossed her mind Akua had shot and missed, then shot again and hit the target, his hit not very far away from her own. Tinnok's eyebrows rose, and though she missed Rarik's face showing that he was impressed by a tick, she could see the reflection of it in his features when he cleared his throat and tried very visibly to be unimpressed.

"You shot closer to the target than either of us..." He muttered.

Tinnok glared at him, then tousled Akua's hair affectionately. "That was an excellent shot, Akua, master of the bow indeed."

Rarik rolled his eyes, taking steps back to where it was a more standard firing range, Tinnok taking her place next to him. The both of them watched each other, notching their bows in time with each other, drawing back and appearing the mirrored image of one another. Tinnok inhaled with her pull, holding her breath. Rarik aimed for the center target, Tinnok decided again to aim for a target that she would have to angle her shot at: This time the far right one. She focused on the center, arcing her shot up slightly, tilting her bow, trying to figure out the right angle where she could still hit somewhere near the center even at her disadvantaged position, after all, when were shots so well lined up in a fight or hunt?

The two released on that next outward breath, Rarik's shot sailed into the center target, just outside the red center. Tinnok's arced over Rarik's shot, hitting the right most target with a thud that landed it just a smidge closer to the center than her first. She sighed, then turned to Akua.

"Okay why don't you take 5 steps back from where you are now and try again. If you don't hit the target move back to where you were before, if you do try holding the bow the opposite of how you did, see if you notice which stance is better for you."

Rarik drew his bow again, pretending to ignore the scenario, yet his eyes still hung on his younger brother, curious to see how he would continue to fare with his training.
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[Akua]

Akua absorbed the praise from both his brother and sister. Even though his brother would never admit to the praise. He watched his siblings as they went to shoot their own arrows. The two shooting across from each other, his sisters shot arcing over his brothers. Then his sister spoke to him again. "Five steps" he said counting as he stepped backwards. He took up the same stance as before. Steadying his breath he raised his bow. The feathers brushing against his face as his breath left his lungs slowly. He focused in on the target, the area around it getting blurred as his vision tunneled onto the target itself. Time seemed to move slower to him as he breathed. His fingers holding the string of the bow back, an arrow notched between them.

He breathed in once more and slowly releasing it. His fingers releasing the bow string. Snapping back into place and thrusting the arrow through the air. Slicing through it like a knife until it struck against the long house. It fell to the ground, bouncing against the hard mud. A disapproving look spread on his face. He looked at his sister, "I missed" he mumbled. He looked down at his bow disappointed for a tick before remembering the other instruction his sister had gave. He picked up another arrow and switched the bow to his right hand. He walked forward taking five step forward again. He took his stance, slightly awkward from the one he had before. He notched his arrow again. Pulling it back, he began breathing slowly lining up his shot. A few ticks passed before he released it. It flew through the air with a slight spin. Striking the ground in front of the target. Digging into the ground.

"I do not have as much strength doing it that way. It does not shot as hard" he said looking towards Rarik. "Why is that brother?" he asked. He could swing his club with bother arms in ether direction and nothing seemed to change. But the bow was different. It had changed when he switched hands. "The bow is so different from my club. I can swing it with both hands just fine and nothing changes. But the bow does. I do not understand" he said looking to his brother for an answer. Some kind of guidance to the question that bugged his mind. The rays of Syna warmed the young Myrians body as they shone down on him through the canopy.

He looked up at the sky, the leaves shielding a lot of his face from the suns rays. The birds singing their songs in the trees and the animals hidden from sight calling out to. The peace of the jungle amazed Akua. "Hey Tino... What is the name of the Nature Goddess?" he said looking at his sister. Akua had begun learning of the other Gods and Goddess' of their world. He knew their Goddess Queen Myri and the Goddess of Death Dira. But he had yet to memorize the names of the others that he had been taught about.

[Tinnok]

Rarik and Tinnok both watched Akua's progress, giving him the appropriate amount of room to shoot. While she waited Tinnok pulled three arrows from her quiver and shoved them into the soft earth in front of her in a straight line, glancing up to see that Akua's first shot fell a bit short of his target, watching again as he switched his stance and tried again, a bit closer, still missing. At his question Rarik was ready with an answer. "Bows require more careful skill to aim and fire properly, or finesse. Usually even if you don't know it, you favor one hand over the other, so one is going to be better at pulling back your string and making your shot count."

"And don't worry too much about missing, Akua, it takes a lot of practice to judge the distance of a target from you, how far to pull the string back in order to hit something, when its too far and when its not far enough. If you want to try again we can continue with the 5 step game, if not perhaps we can move onto a different weapon?" She didn't know if Akua's patience with the bow was running thin, so she decided to see what he would prefer.

As to his next question, Tinnok smiled. Two topics in one day she knew quite a lot about. "The Goddess of Nature is named Caiyha. She is the one that gave us the Tskanna, and our Orchids. She made every plant and animal in the jungles and in the lands beyond the jungles that you haven't seen. She is close with Myri and the mother of Navre, who gave Myri our Myrian Tigers." She paused for a moment, wondering if she should also explain she was the mother of Siku and the reason why the Myrians couldn't fully conquer Falyndar, yet that seemed a lesson for another day. "Are there any other Goddesses you're learning about?"

She took this time to draw an arrow and aim directly for the center target. She wanted to get a shot in the middle, though with her luck today, she wasn't sure if it would happen. She drew her arrow back, fingers clenched around her bow string, taking an even pace backwards. She knew the upward angle of her bow was accurate based on the fact that her second shot hit the target in the center, but too far left. With the target directly in front of her at the same angle, she had a good chance of hitting it far closer to the middle. Her arm pulled back, changing from partially drawn to fully, but her energy was waning, her arms still not used to the resistance the string required her muscles to overcome. She held her string for too long, and found her arm quivering. When she released she sighed audibly, watching her arrow quake in the air and zip between targets to plunk ineffectually against the wall of the longhouse behind them, falling lamely to the ground.

"Well it seems like I need a break from bows at least." She joked, making sure Rarik wasn't about to shoot before she walked to the targets and collected the arrows amassed there, waiting to see if either of her brothers had a suggestion of how to proceed.
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[Akua]

Akua listened to his brothers words. The wisdom of his years over Akua showed, he understood things that the younger Myrian did not. "So... One hand is stronger then the other?' he said with a tilt of his head. He looked down at his hands, his left open and his right clutching onto the bow. He studied them for a time, turning them both over then back to how they were. "So... To be the best warrior, I should strengthen my weak hand right?" he said looking at his brother for approval. He glanced at Tinnok and then down at his hands again. "Tino, what weapon did you get at the birth blooding?" he asked. His gaze turned back to his brother.

Before his was about to riddle his brother with another question his sister spoke up. The young brother turned his eyes back towards her and nodded. "We can. Do... Um" he said thinking as he looked at his own club then to the the long hut itself. He walked over to the Rarik and handed him the bow before turning back to Tinnok who had taken to answering his question about the gods. "Mother to Navre? The Gods have mothers?" he tilted his head. A confused look on his face. "Are their mothers like ours?" he asked. Pointing to the fact that their mother cared more for their older siblings then them. "I know of our Goddess Queen, I know of Lady Dira." he said nodding as he counted them on his fingers. "The Goddess of life? I do not remember her name. But she is Dira's.. Um.. Sister? Like you are to me?" he said unsure if what he said was correct.

He watched as his sister went to shoot one final arrow. His eyes locked on her stance. Watching her arch the bow and pull back the string. Holding it for a few ticks as her arm began to physically shake. He watched the arrow as it was released. Trying to keep his eye on it as it moved quickly through the air and in between the targets. "Do not worry about missing Tino!" he said with a huge grin. Echoing his sister from before. "We can rest and learn about the Gods?" he suggested, even though it came out more as a question. "Father says that it is never smart to push yourself to hard. A broken Myrian is more useless then one that is learning" he said with a nod. He reached down and grabbed his club, before walking over to his brother. "I do not need this anymore" he said, looking up at his brother.