Target Practice <Open>

[Sayu]

Thwang, whoosh, thunk.

By now those sounds were becoming familiar again to Rikula, the good ol' noise of speeding arrows hitting their targets proving to be a better stress relief than anything else. It had been a good fortnight since the touching, and the hunter had barely any sleep since. Each afternoon during lessons she was tenser than normal, prepared to leap into action at the moment the call was given.

In the mornings she woke early and got ready fast. At night she made sure to have everything properly placed on order to be more efficient. It was entirely unlike Riku, and the candidate was beginning to get anxious because of it. She wasn't the kind of girl who had wanted to stand in the first place, let alone for a clutch that contained a Queen. Yet there she was, every afternoon once lessons were done, sitting on the stands and watching the eggs and "mothers."

Her brother had teased her enough times already for it too. Sighing, she shook her head and closed her eyes. There is nothing but the target. The clatter of wings, the chittering of flits in the trees, it all is inconsequential. There's just the target...the subtle sound of the string tightened, the snap as it is released, the whoosh of the arrow and that satisfying sound of victory. She opened her eyes again to look where it had landed a few spaces away from the marked up board. The circular peice of wood had already been carved by the arrowhead countless times, no doubt it would have a good deal more cuts before she was finished here.

Retrieving the arrow, Rikula strung it once more and like a well trained Harper, played her instrument. It felt good to be in control of something again. She had chosen to go out and do this! She hadn't felt like she needed to....so why was it still making her feel bad? The hunter never felt as centered as when she was with her bow. It was an extension of herself completely. It made her whole...or it used to.

Was she really getting so attached to the idea of candidacy now? Was that why she stayed despite being so determined to say it was to watch over Kikunae? "It's his fault." She let another arrow loose, and laughed as it hit the mark. No, she wasn't thinking of her brother when she had said him either. She was thinking of the man that had had them tracked for four turns. I'd gladly shove him between as the riders say." Her tone grew cold as she strung her final arrow and gritted her teeth. She had missed the exact center by a bit last time.

"He killed his brother, he tried to use me as a pawn....the only good thing that came from him was running away...sending me here." She let the arrow go, sending with it bad wishes. Rikula sighed again and ran a somewhat shaky hand through her bangs. It wasn't odd for her to talk to herself when alone, but someone passing by might find it odd. Thinking of that for a moment, the girl snorted and went to retreave the arrows. As if I should care what they think....the people don't matter.

Her head snapped around as she heard a rustle behind her though. Cocking one eyebrow up, she looked into the halfway shadowed forest. Her body was tensed, one hand was on her bow, the other reaching for the knife at her waist. With you luck Riku, it'll be a little fuzzy critter too.

(Ooc: As said it's a few days after the touching, it's open to however many people want to reply, and your charrie doesn't have to be what she heard xD)

[fellis]

Oswin wandered aimlessly through the forest. He knew the paths well enough that he wouldn't get lost, and he was logical enough to think that he probably wasn't going to get attacked by a rabid animal. He was lost in thought, numbers whirling through his mind, and he was barely cognizant of where he was headed. He didn't even notice the sound of arrows, but he did perk up when he heard a voice. Maybe there was someone else here. A rider trying to get some alone time, perhaps. Or a wild crazy person...probably not, though. It did seem like they were talking to themselves, but Oswin wasn't going to judge them for that. He often did the same, when he was working through a problem.

He blundered through the trees, not attempting to be quiet at all. Oswin enjoyed the solitude and quiet the forest granted, but he was hardly at one with nature. When he stepped out of the foliage, he found a young woman facing him with one hand on her bow and the other on her knife. Oswin froze, holding his hands up.

"Please don't shoot," he said, smiling sheepishly at her. "I didn't mean to sneak up on you."

[Sayu]

Didn't mean to...didn't...."Are you insane, you sharding dimglow?!?" Rikula snapped her eyes to his as the hand holding her blade slowly relaxed and went to its holding place. "Didn't you hear me before? I would think people's have the sense to stay clear of a place they hear arrows being shot!" Irritation boiled in her, but it was mainly from fear. She could have hurt him, someone who didn't even have a clue as to how badly things could have turned out. Sighing and placing her free hand againsther head, Rikula looked at the ground. Everything's fine. The guy's not hurt....and it wasn't your little brother...everythings fine.

Looking back at the boy, she tilted her head to the side just the tiniest bit. Where had she seen him before? Her body started to relax fractions at a time as she first realized he was t a threat, then that he was Weyrfolk at least. She knew that much...just why? Biting her lower lip, Rikula let out a frustrated groan and turned around to retrieve the arrows she had already shot. Drudge? ...No. Rider? ....Definitely not. Candidate? "That's it! You're a candidate too." She recalled vaguely seeing him around the hatching sands while touching the eggs and at lessons too.

The hunter just never had bothered to learn his name or anything. Honestly, she didn't want to. She was being...polite, if you called this polite. Mumbling to herself about stupid boys and how they needed to leave her alone, Riku turned to look at the candidate again. "Why in Faranth's good name are you even out here?!?" She threw up her hands as if to say she certainly had no clue, and then bent over a bush as she located an arrow. Just stall...maybe stop talking to him now. He'll leave, then you can go on like you were before....please, please just don't do the normal candidate thing.

What might that be? Well, Rikula had seen it enough times to mimic exactly how the general candidate meeting went. You said hello, told each other your names, mentioned perhaps where you were from or how you had come to be a candidate...then you scorching talked about eggs and impressions. Rikula wanted that least of all things. She hoped he had t remembered spending so much time around that egg either. The hunter might have felt something, but that was her business! She certainly didn't want to say what she hoped to impress to. There was no way she was going there!

...because you know deep down what you actually want, don't you? And that's something you'd never admit.

[fellis]

Oswin dropped his hands to his sides, standing passively while the other candidate berated him. He recognized her from the Touching, although he couldn't recall her name. He was used enough to being yelled at for being absent minded. Back at the Hall, people had accepted it as a trade off for his skills. Here, the criticism was a little more harsh.

He nodded silently when she guessed that he was a candidate. "I'm Oswin," he introduced himself simply. He was going to say more, but she continued on, asking him what he was doing here. "I came out here to think," he answered. He didn't elaborate any more than that; Oswin wasn't going to reveal his innermost thoughts to someone he had barely met. Besides, the girl seemed occupied with picking up her arrows.

It was fairly clear that she wanted to be left alone, but Oswin was curious. "What about you?" he asked. Unless she gave him a direct order to leave, he was going to keep talking. Oswin wouldn't have hesitated to tell someone to get lost, and he expected the same from anyone else. "Is this a craft or a hobby?"

[Sayu]

Oh, he just kept on coming didn't he? Well then fine! Faranth must have it in for me. The candidate turned with her gathered arrows and put them carefully back into the quiver. The feathers stuck out over the top, and Rikula found herself smoothing them gently back into their proper forms. She nodded when she heard him say her name. Did she dare give hers back? She knew it was polite, but still....sighing, she finally looked up at him and opened her mouth to speak, only to close it again.

One more time girl, it's not that hard to make simple conversation. "I'm Riku." She used her nickname, not her full one. He didn't need to know something like that. A full name was a powerful thing in that it was used by those that knew you intimately, or those giving you commands. A nickname could be formed at any given time, she already had a few choice ones for the boy...not that she'd say them aloud, she wasn't a total jerk after all. She just was now because she was frustrated.

He was somewhat like her at least though, and as soon as she realized he really had just happened across her, probably lost in his own thoughts, she fractionally relaxed even more than before. "Something similar..." She wasn't adding anymore than that. If he wasn't willing to say anything more, she wasn't either. The hunter could just be stubborn like that sometimes. She listened with some semblance of patience as he talked, picking at the dirt underneath one of her nails. It was an oddly "girly" thing for her to do, or so she thought, but it was giving her something.

"Neither. It's survival."

[fellis]

"Pleasure to meet you, Riku," Oswin said, nodding when she introduced herself. Just because they were standing in the woods didn't mean they couldn't be polite. She evidently wasn't very talkative, but he wasn't either, so that was fine. Oswin wondered if she was picking at her nails out of boredom, discomfort, or something else. He wished he could read people more easily...if only they were as simple as astronomical formulas.

It's survival. "Oh." Well, what did one say to that? She probably didn't want to say anything more, and Oswin was too embarrassed to ask, despite his curiosity.

He hesitated a little, his uncertainty showing clearly in his stance. He stuffed his hands in his pockets so he wouldn't fidget. "Could you shoot another arrow? Slowly. So I can watch..." He knew it was an odd request, but he was always interested in how people did things. Back at the Hall, he spent a lot of time watching the Smithcrafters, trying to figure out their technique. He'd never seen anyone shoot up close before and he thought it would be interesting.

[Sayu]

Yes, she had managed to get him to quiet finally! Riku had actually won thus battle of questions aiming toward no end but filling a silence! She was going to be left alone, oh joy for solitude! Wait!?! What? She bit back a groan when he didn't leave but instead went to thinking. Thinking's dangerous kid, I wouldn't do that if I were you. She watched him wearily with slightly defensive green eyes. Would he leave afterward?

Nope. "You want me to shoot....an arrow...slowly?" She repeated the question slowly, letting it roll around on her tongue and thinking about it while the phrases dropped off her tongue. She could slow down the process sure, but she couldn't really slow down the arrow itself. Maybe that would be enough though, or was what he meant? Rikula sighed, running a hand down her braid and throwing it over her shoulders once she reached the end.

"Okay. I'll do it once slow, then once normal." She reached to take an arrow from her quiver, taking the patience of a teacher to string it and pull the thing back. Her fingertips and the feathers at the end brushed the corner of her lip, her eyes steadied on a target. She let the tension go, still holding the arrow so that it simply went back to how it had been first strung. Then, having shown it slower, she pulled it back quickly and let it fly hearing the familiar buzzing of the string near her ear.

She watched the arrow fly off, then heard the thud as it landed on the round target. This time she hadn't missed the middle at all. Smirking, Riku looked at the candidate expectantly as if to ask, any more questions? Her eyes danced with a mischevious light though and she smiled slowly to herself, then let it fall as if realizing he would see. "So...yeah....wanna try?" She surprised herself by asking, but somehow she knew that she meant it.