Post by zeis on Sept 30, 2010 18:59:13 GMT -8
Spring was here. The snow and ice had thawed, flowers had been in bloom, and the lesser wildlife of Spiderland, all the lizards and bugs and creepy crawlies, had engaged in the springtime revitalization of their respective populations. Time went by so fast. Hadn't the Alpha chicks only been the size of his left claw nine months ago? It was around nine in the morning, and the weather was fair, though the light breeze that ruffled Canph's feathers seemed to promise mild afternoon heat. The red simourv soared in a lazy ring above his rider, circling K'huna like some ominous red vulture. He contemplated these things only because he had nothing better to do. He was bored, and impatient.
How much longer is this going to take? His voice rang petulantly in the Wingletmaster's head as he set up the wooden targets. This had been a task he'd trusted only to himself, so things had to be perfect. The Winglets had been practicing with bows and arrows for a couple weeks now, and had shown pleasing proficiency in their use after a lot of practice. They would get even better he was sure, but the time had come for their instruction to ramp up in difficulty. The targets he was setting up now were crudely fashioned dart boards, painted with concentric rings. The bulls-eyes of these targets, had been in some flash of playfulness from K'huna and the servants who helped make them, were painted to resemble the wide glaring golden eyes of Xymokoxi. They were raised to a variety of heights, the highest reaching to the shoulder level of some of the larger simourv. Each had to be well spaced apart, allowing freedom of movement and no room for possible injury due to crowding or errant shots. Well?
Quit your whining. K'huna admonished as he stuck the last target in place, driving the wooden stilts that held them up deep into the soft spring earth. He pulled off his leather work gloves and took a step back, surveying the training ground he had created. The targets were straight, driven deep enough to be supported against the impact of arrows and the wind. Satisfied, he tilted his head up as a large simourv shaped shadow blocked out the sun. All done. Tell them to come ready for riding. Canph responded in true red fashion by swooping low over the training ground, seizing one of the flimsy targets in his claws and violently ripping it out of the earth as he flew past. The colorful language that K'huna directed at him mentally made him feel a little less bored.
Winglets! Winglets! Time for class! Canph called out to them in a sing song voice, sounding particularly cheery as he made a show of snapping the target in half mid-air over the Winglet's Barracks. Today we start mounted archery, so bring your bows and harness. The red considered hurling the pieces to the ground, but quickly thought better of it. Sharpened pieces of wood sailing down toward the earth might end up impaling some unfortunate student of his. And while the idea of that was slightly interesting, he didn't really want to harm anyone under his care. Instead he winged back around and landed off to the side of the training course, hopping a bit awkwardly with a length of wood in each claw. These he pushed toward K'huna with a happy little chirp, ignoring the faintly incredulous stare he got from his rider's yellow eyes in return.
The tall man that was their teacher grumbled and went about re-setting up the top portion of the target as he waited for his students to assemble. There was no way it could be quickly mended, so he'd have to settle for one of the targets being considerably shorter than the rest. Maybe he'd tell Ol'ia and Weirph to practice on that one. Once that was done, he dusted off his hands, and strode over to address his students. "I'll keep this short and sweet. You all know how to use a bow by now, but mounted archery is a different animal. You'll need to be confident in your balance, and confident you and your simourv can work together to line up a shot."
"This means... Being able to ride without holding on. You've rode bareback, so I know you can do this. Adjust your aim for how quickly you are moving. We'll start off slow. No running today, just a canter. Hold the bow like we practiced, and sight along your arrow. Breathe, release with your shot, and follow through." He looked them over with scrutiny, making sure that each one had brought the composite bows they had been practicing with. His gaze turned to the chicks, who were getting taller every day. "Work with your simourv's gait, not against it. Find a pattern in the movement, and use it to your advantage. Got that?"
He waited until a number of Winglets in the group answered in the affirmative, and nodded in satisfaction. He was about to tell them to get to work but hesitated. The safety of his class had been a nagging concern of his since they had started training with bows, and though nothing had happened yet, he didn't doubt that some of them might be foolish enough to get careless. "Watch where you're aiming those things, and if any of you shoot at anything other than those targets, it better be me. You should hope to hell you hit, too." He snorted, and glowered sternly at them a second. Yes, it was a threat, but some people, including certain red simourv, needed threats to keep them in line. Better safe than sorry. He nodded in the direction of the targets, and said finally. "Get started. Ride by a target and try and hit the damn thing."
~~~~~~
K'ii stared dismally at the targets set up before them from where he sat mounted on Akaturiaph's back. His hair was pulled back as normal, and he wore tighter clothes than he normally would have cared for. Flapping sleeves got in the way. He sighed, and forced himself to go over all the rules that K'huna had taught them when they had first started. Most of them he remembered from his lessons with N'raan, but as the Wingletmaster said, this would be different. He had just started to enjoy archery on foot too upon discovering he was getting pretty good at it, and now... this. Of course, he was still expected to practice everything outside of class too, but he didn't like looking like he couldn't do anything in front of other people.
Nonsense, you can do everything they can do better. Akaturiaph scolded him, swiveling her head to the side to fix him with one serious golden eye. Her tone was supportive, but the simourv understood the boy's reluctance. Her K'ii was a little bit awkward when he tried new things, but that was only because he needed her to whip him into shape. She sympathized with the frustration of being outperformed, because she felt it too. But it was not, as she had assured him, because they were any less than anyone else. It was because truly great simourv and humans had to work hard to realize their potential. I'm not a horse. I'm not going to throw you unless you keep feeling sorry for yourself. You know how to use a glaive and spear from my back just fine. Why is a bow any different?
K'ii smiled tentatively at this fierce, and slightly unnerving encouragement. Did he doubt that Akaturiaph would throw him? Not particularly. When they had been learning to ride months ago, a disagreement over K'ii wanting to spend more time with N'raan had led to the green chick attempting to shake her rider off. She had been in harness so he had grabbed the straps and hung on, and though he had been slightly terrified he had realized that she had held back enough to not actually send him flying. She had just wanted to scare sense into him, not actually hurt him. Still, he had no desire to repeat that incident, especially with the scolding it had earned from K'huna and Canph. Instead, he leaned forward slightly, holding onto the harness with one hand and the bow in the other. Ready.
Akaturiaph was one of the first to get moving, and she proceeded at a light run toward the edge of the training ground. Here they'd only have a neighbor on one side, and a good view of the rest of the class as they trained. The green figured watching some other people fail might cheer her rider and herself up. She ran at an angle toward the target, enjoying the feeling of the grass beneath her scaled feet. On her back K'ii released his hold on the harness, and tentatively gained his balance. He quickly snatched an arrow from the quiver he carried, and notched it loosely on the bow. As they entered firing range of the target, he hefted the bow, and pulled back slowly on the string, drawing it back nearly far enough to touch the side of his jaw. It was difficult to keep his aim straight with the rolling gait of Akaturiaph beneath him, but he found as he waited for an opportunity to take a shot that he could anticipate the pattern of ups and downs.
It was almost too late to take a shot when he finally found both his balance and satisfying aim. K'ii let the string slip from his fingers and breathed out as the arrow flew. It struck quivering between the two outermost rings of the target with a quiet wooden thocking sound. I hit it! K'ii shouted ecstatically across his mental bond with his simourv, and thumped a fist happily on her light green feathered shoulder. Akaturiaph had seen this through his own eyes but she skidded and skipped to a halt after they passed the wooden bullseye, and skulked back in front of it to get a look for herself anyway. The young green did not know the exact rules of archery or darts as it were, but she could gather that it was better to hit the center of the target than the outside. It had hit, that was true, but it was not an enviable hit by any means. She whuffed dismissively, and turned away to get enough distance for another pass. Try harder.
How much longer is this going to take? His voice rang petulantly in the Wingletmaster's head as he set up the wooden targets. This had been a task he'd trusted only to himself, so things had to be perfect. The Winglets had been practicing with bows and arrows for a couple weeks now, and had shown pleasing proficiency in their use after a lot of practice. They would get even better he was sure, but the time had come for their instruction to ramp up in difficulty. The targets he was setting up now were crudely fashioned dart boards, painted with concentric rings. The bulls-eyes of these targets, had been in some flash of playfulness from K'huna and the servants who helped make them, were painted to resemble the wide glaring golden eyes of Xymokoxi. They were raised to a variety of heights, the highest reaching to the shoulder level of some of the larger simourv. Each had to be well spaced apart, allowing freedom of movement and no room for possible injury due to crowding or errant shots. Well?
Quit your whining. K'huna admonished as he stuck the last target in place, driving the wooden stilts that held them up deep into the soft spring earth. He pulled off his leather work gloves and took a step back, surveying the training ground he had created. The targets were straight, driven deep enough to be supported against the impact of arrows and the wind. Satisfied, he tilted his head up as a large simourv shaped shadow blocked out the sun. All done. Tell them to come ready for riding. Canph responded in true red fashion by swooping low over the training ground, seizing one of the flimsy targets in his claws and violently ripping it out of the earth as he flew past. The colorful language that K'huna directed at him mentally made him feel a little less bored.
Winglets! Winglets! Time for class! Canph called out to them in a sing song voice, sounding particularly cheery as he made a show of snapping the target in half mid-air over the Winglet's Barracks. Today we start mounted archery, so bring your bows and harness. The red considered hurling the pieces to the ground, but quickly thought better of it. Sharpened pieces of wood sailing down toward the earth might end up impaling some unfortunate student of his. And while the idea of that was slightly interesting, he didn't really want to harm anyone under his care. Instead he winged back around and landed off to the side of the training course, hopping a bit awkwardly with a length of wood in each claw. These he pushed toward K'huna with a happy little chirp, ignoring the faintly incredulous stare he got from his rider's yellow eyes in return.
The tall man that was their teacher grumbled and went about re-setting up the top portion of the target as he waited for his students to assemble. There was no way it could be quickly mended, so he'd have to settle for one of the targets being considerably shorter than the rest. Maybe he'd tell Ol'ia and Weirph to practice on that one. Once that was done, he dusted off his hands, and strode over to address his students. "I'll keep this short and sweet. You all know how to use a bow by now, but mounted archery is a different animal. You'll need to be confident in your balance, and confident you and your simourv can work together to line up a shot."
"This means... Being able to ride without holding on. You've rode bareback, so I know you can do this. Adjust your aim for how quickly you are moving. We'll start off slow. No running today, just a canter. Hold the bow like we practiced, and sight along your arrow. Breathe, release with your shot, and follow through." He looked them over with scrutiny, making sure that each one had brought the composite bows they had been practicing with. His gaze turned to the chicks, who were getting taller every day. "Work with your simourv's gait, not against it. Find a pattern in the movement, and use it to your advantage. Got that?"
He waited until a number of Winglets in the group answered in the affirmative, and nodded in satisfaction. He was about to tell them to get to work but hesitated. The safety of his class had been a nagging concern of his since they had started training with bows, and though nothing had happened yet, he didn't doubt that some of them might be foolish enough to get careless. "Watch where you're aiming those things, and if any of you shoot at anything other than those targets, it better be me. You should hope to hell you hit, too." He snorted, and glowered sternly at them a second. Yes, it was a threat, but some people, including certain red simourv, needed threats to keep them in line. Better safe than sorry. He nodded in the direction of the targets, and said finally. "Get started. Ride by a target and try and hit the damn thing."
~~~~~~
K'ii stared dismally at the targets set up before them from where he sat mounted on Akaturiaph's back. His hair was pulled back as normal, and he wore tighter clothes than he normally would have cared for. Flapping sleeves got in the way. He sighed, and forced himself to go over all the rules that K'huna had taught them when they had first started. Most of them he remembered from his lessons with N'raan, but as the Wingletmaster said, this would be different. He had just started to enjoy archery on foot too upon discovering he was getting pretty good at it, and now... this. Of course, he was still expected to practice everything outside of class too, but he didn't like looking like he couldn't do anything in front of other people.
Nonsense, you can do everything they can do better. Akaturiaph scolded him, swiveling her head to the side to fix him with one serious golden eye. Her tone was supportive, but the simourv understood the boy's reluctance. Her K'ii was a little bit awkward when he tried new things, but that was only because he needed her to whip him into shape. She sympathized with the frustration of being outperformed, because she felt it too. But it was not, as she had assured him, because they were any less than anyone else. It was because truly great simourv and humans had to work hard to realize their potential. I'm not a horse. I'm not going to throw you unless you keep feeling sorry for yourself. You know how to use a glaive and spear from my back just fine. Why is a bow any different?
K'ii smiled tentatively at this fierce, and slightly unnerving encouragement. Did he doubt that Akaturiaph would throw him? Not particularly. When they had been learning to ride months ago, a disagreement over K'ii wanting to spend more time with N'raan had led to the green chick attempting to shake her rider off. She had been in harness so he had grabbed the straps and hung on, and though he had been slightly terrified he had realized that she had held back enough to not actually send him flying. She had just wanted to scare sense into him, not actually hurt him. Still, he had no desire to repeat that incident, especially with the scolding it had earned from K'huna and Canph. Instead, he leaned forward slightly, holding onto the harness with one hand and the bow in the other. Ready.
Akaturiaph was one of the first to get moving, and she proceeded at a light run toward the edge of the training ground. Here they'd only have a neighbor on one side, and a good view of the rest of the class as they trained. The green figured watching some other people fail might cheer her rider and herself up. She ran at an angle toward the target, enjoying the feeling of the grass beneath her scaled feet. On her back K'ii released his hold on the harness, and tentatively gained his balance. He quickly snatched an arrow from the quiver he carried, and notched it loosely on the bow. As they entered firing range of the target, he hefted the bow, and pulled back slowly on the string, drawing it back nearly far enough to touch the side of his jaw. It was difficult to keep his aim straight with the rolling gait of Akaturiaph beneath him, but he found as he waited for an opportunity to take a shot that he could anticipate the pattern of ups and downs.
It was almost too late to take a shot when he finally found both his balance and satisfying aim. K'ii let the string slip from his fingers and breathed out as the arrow flew. It struck quivering between the two outermost rings of the target with a quiet wooden thocking sound. I hit it! K'ii shouted ecstatically across his mental bond with his simourv, and thumped a fist happily on her light green feathered shoulder. Akaturiaph had seen this through his own eyes but she skidded and skipped to a halt after they passed the wooden bullseye, and skulked back in front of it to get a look for herself anyway. The young green did not know the exact rules of archery or darts as it were, but she could gather that it was better to hit the center of the target than the outside. It had hit, that was true, but it was not an enviable hit by any means. She whuffed dismissively, and turned away to get enough distance for another pass. Try harder.
