Chapter 40 - Archery 101 II
As the bowstring sang, the arrow flew to the side. Michelle's laughter broke the forest's silence as her eyes accompanied the arrow whistle flying into a faraway tree.
What did I expect? Having improved my status won't make me Legolas all of a sudden. Bryn thought as his face heated.
"HAHAHAH, Bryn, the target was over here!" Michelle pointed at the wooden plate close to her.
"I know that! I just need another try…"
"Ok, ok…"
Bryn pulled another arrow from the quiver on the floor and positioned himself again.
Stance, check. Posture, check. Bow position, check. Arrow position, check. His right hand drew the string back until his muscles fully contracted, and the bow was ready to fire. Trembling his left hand a little, he released his fingers once again. Bryn felt the breeze of the arrow running next to his cheek as it flew out of his hands.
He looked at the plate, but no arrow could be seen anywhere. As he looked to the side, Michelle had her mouth filled with air, to the point she was holding it all inside with her hands.
Annoyed, he quickly pulled another arrow, then another, then another, but nothing he did helped him find his target. His breathing was already pacing after a few shots.
"Bryn, calm down… I'll help you…" Michelle said as she approached. "First, you pay close attention to your breathing. Otherwise, you'll spend much more energy than necessary to shoot."
Michelle went in front of him, pulling an arrow from the quiver. "Second, your stance and posture are good, but your hand positioning is wrong… You are pinching the arrow!"
"What do you mean? I need to hold it in place to release it…" Bryn answered, pondering about his movements before.
She crossed her arms and said, "That is not how you do it! Here, look at me." Michelle placed the arrow in her right hand over the back of her left index finger, touching it and the bow. Her right hand then released her grip as the tip of her fingers gently held the string around the arrow. "Can you see it here?"
As she extended her arms a bit near Bryn's face, he realized that her fingers only touched the bowstring, but the arrow was still in place. One fingertip over the arrow and two bellows.
Bryn nodded his head as she brought the bow back to her.
"Now the second thing is that you must find your always spot…"
"What is an always spot?" Bryn asked, looking closer to her hands.
"Uncle Jonas called it another name, but it is a place your right hand will stop at every time you draw your bow…" She used her back to draw the string back as she placed her right hand against the top of her cheekbone. "Can you see my right hand is placed on my face?"
Bryn was focused on her movements and kept silent, looking at her hand positioning, finger by finger.
"Hey, are you seeing my hand??" said Michelle, wiggling her right hand with the bow still ready to fire.
"Yes!" Said Bryn, only now realizing the last question was not rhetorical.
"Good, as you have everything ready, breathe gently. As you exhale lightly, you release all three fingers at once…" Bryn was still looking at the bow when its arch stretched and the string trembled on the starting position.
The noise made by the arrow was much different from Bryn's shots. He confirmed just to be sure, but one of the dangling targets was now swinging in the air with an arrow placed perfectly in the middle of it.
"Now, let's improve your hand placement and release! Come closer…" Michelle said, pulling him by the arm closer to the previous target. She went abc for the quiver, placing it beside Bryn's feet. "I'll do the same thing Uncle Jonas did to me… We'll each fire five consecutive arrows each time. The worst archer has to make a funny joke every time!"
"Wait a moment! You are much better than me. That is not fair!" Bryn complained.
"Who said it is meant to be fair?! Hahaha." said Michelle as she giggled, drawing her bow delicately and firing five consecutive arrows in a grouping so tight that the arrows seemed to be sharing the entry point.
Bryn calmed his mind. He lowered to pick an arrow as his mind replayed a movie, Michelle's demonstration, and her five shots just now. He placed his right hand the same way, one finger above and two others below the arrow, none touching it. As he pulled the string, he tried to identify where his right hand naturally went, trying to find a reference point.
"Much better, Bryn! Now relax on the release. Remember to breathe…"
He took another breath, and as the air exhaled, all fingers released. His eyes focused on the target, and were amazed to see that next to the grouping of five arrows, there was a sixth one. It was on the edge, almost outside the wooden plate, but that didn't matter! His mouth and eyes opened as he closed his right fist and screamed, "Yeahhh!".
"Good, good, another four to go!" said Michelle as she walked to his front.
As he was about to pull another arrow, she looked closer to his hands, inches away. "You should place the arrow a bit more to the center of the string. It is upward from the middle." she said.
Bryn repositioned it and pulled the string back once again.
"Your belly is soft. Tighten it! We shot with our whole body. It is easier, and you improve precision."
He pulled his abdomen inwards, correcting his posture.
"Now breathe and release!"
As instructed, Bryn kept looking at the target as he pulled air inwards, and as he exhaled once again, he fired.
What is going on? I was sure to do everything right! This time, he couldn't see where the arrow had hit.
"Wow, amazing shot, Bryn!!" said Michelle.
"What do you mean? I don't see the arrow anywhere!" Bryn brought his bow downwards as he squinted towards the target.
"Hmm, how many arrows did I fire?"
"Five, why?"
"Count my grouping, please…"
"One, two… Five and six. There you go…" As he said that, he shook his head and counted once again. "I hit it!! Yeaaah".
"Hahah, you are weird…"
They repeated the exercise several times until Bryn could center an okay grouping of five arrows about the size of an adult's palm. He lost every round to Michelle and she was pretty happy with the results. The moment his shooting was always always on target, they went for a hunt.
Walking towards the forest, Bryn realized that the region differed from the previous day. The trees were smaller and a bit more dense. Snow could not reach the ground properly, so more vegetation was around their feet. After a while, they found one of those enormous rabbits.
"Bryn, look there." Michelle whispered, pointing towards a faraway rabbit enjoying something near a tree's root. "It is your chance. Try approaching it slowly until the distance we trained, and then do your thing."
Bryn used what he had learned the day before, trying to avoid sound, his presence, and being visible to the rabbit. With a few movements, he was close enough to the creature so that it looked as big as the wooden plate. He took an arrow from the quiver on his waist and prepared his bow. Visualizing every muscle on his body, he repeated the ritual. Hand placement, stance, posture, and back arch, checked. Feeling that the bow was twitching from the tension on its string, Bryn knew it was time. Taking a big breath, he let loose. At that moment, no sound could be heard around the forest. His heart skipped a beat as his eyes kept paying close attention to the rabbit. Passing between a few leaves and branches, the arrow rocketed toward the rabbit and hit its dead center. There was no chance for the rabbit.
Incredible, why would people hunt with anything else?! That damn dwarf giving me a shortsword for hunting, what was he thinking?!
– Skill Acquired –
Archery Beginner LVL. 1 (50%)
"Excellent shoot! Two more rabbits, and you should level up. Let's go!" said Michelle.
It didn't take them long to find another rabbit. Once again, Bryn prepared it all. This time, his mind focused on the rush he felt as the arrow flew until it hit the last rabbit. As he released the arrow, he realized his hand, holding the bow, overextended. The arrow flew and passed by the rabbit, not hitting anywhere near it. The creature was shocked by the air disturbance from the arrow and started running away with everything it had.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Yelled Michelle. Bryn was paralyzed after his mistake. He looked at her, confused.
"Didn't we fire five arrows in a roll? What do you think that was for??"
Her words hit him like lightning. His body moved before she finished her second sentence. Grabbing another arrow from the quiver, he ran in the same direction the rabbit went.
His additional agility helped as he could catch up to the fleeing rabbit just enough to fire another shoot. Running, his hands missed the string several times, trying to prepare his shot. Small branches and leaves fell to the floor as his lowered head passed through them. As his back pulled the bowstring, his body completely twisted. As the rabbit kept running, he fired and missed once again.
That was not enough to make Bryn quit. He kept running, trying to get closer to the animal before starting the process again. It took him all five shots to finally hit the animal. The trail of blood changed the smell around the forest; it now contained metal in the air. The footprints of the rabbits got closer to each other. The blood trail also facilitated Bryn's work on following it. There it was, lying on a small snow patch.
Bryn readied his bow again, looking at the creature's rib cage inflating and deflating. He stored his arrow on the quiver and took out his shortsword.
It would not be suitable to use it as a target practice now. Hurt, it has no chance of running or surviving into the wild. Ending its suffering is the right choice. Bryn thought.
Step by step, the smell of blood increased. Bryn's head covered the sun above the rabbit. He kneeled, placing a hand on the rabbit's body. His hand trembled with the rabbit trying to escape, but that was no longer an option.
"You can rest now." he said.
"Nice one. How did it feel running and shooting?" asked Michelle.
Looking behind his shoulder, she looked down at him and the animal. Her hands and bow were behind her back. She had two quivers, one on each side of her waist.
Bryn stood up, picked up the bow he had placed on the floor, and brought it near his eyes. "It felt terrible but exhilarating!"
"Hahahah, I know, right?! But no worries, the first time is the worst… Come on, let's find your next target!"
"How many rabbits are there in the forest? Killing too many won't be a problem?" Bryn asked.
"Hmm, I don't think so… Also, they eat our fruits and vegetables!"
What am I thinking, asking an 8-year-old girl about the balance in the region's fauna… Bryn thought.
"Let's do it then."
"That is the spirit! But, you should pick up your arrows, you know?..." Michelle said, pointing at his quiver, half empty.
Bryn mentally face-palmed himself. After going around, finding where the arrows had landed, and storing them back, both started tracking.
At this point, Bryn was getting the hang of finding traces of the creatures. This time, Bryn controlled his pace. The arrow perfectly hit its target and a notification rang.
- Level UP ! -
Level 3 -> Level 4 (11%)
Gained 8 status points