Archery Practice ((OPEN!!))

[Thorney]

Who: Kheron and H'seo
What: Archery practice :3
When: Afternoon
Where: Beach right outside Cerulean
Warnings: None.

Kheron strode along the beach, the longbow Conner gave him in his hand and his quiver strapped to his back. As had become his custom, and in the habit of a professional archer, he wore a wherhide bracer on his bowarm and a tab on the other, his drawing hand. Light boots, a cloth jerkin, and sturdy leggings made up the rest of his clothing. He had been at Cerulean for a few days, but he had yet to really forge any real acquaintances. The candidate was a nice guy, but he was also the quiet sort, and so he tended to be taken as shy. So, since chores were over and it was a pleasant day out, the wrangler had decided to practice his archery. He was a seriously good shot, but he had practiced nearly every day back at the ranch while the cattle grazed, and here he had not drawn his bow even once. He would not allow his skill to slip, and so had decided to take advantage of the pleasant weather. Since there was nothing resembling a target at the weyr, the candidate had borrowed a few supplies from the beastcrafters, and using some wood he had scavenged along the beach, he make a makeshift mark. Setting it several paces away, the boy drew, aimed with a deadly accurate eye, and let the arrow fly. It landed with a satisfactory thud a few hairs from the center.

Smirking a little to himself, the boy snorted lightly, displeased with how his skill had diminished. Back at the ranch, he would have hit the target dead-center every time. Knocking another arrow, Kheron took careful aim, his trained eye judging the distance of his first shot and then eyeing the center. With a sharp twang, the arrow flew forward, piercing the target perfectly in the center. Smiling in satisfaction, his amber eyes cut to the side as a voice came to him.

“Shards, boy, you are one fall of a good shot!”

It was a male voice, and unfamiliar, with a strange pronounced drawl to it. Turning, Kheron saw a tall, lanky rider coming towards him, his shoulderknots proclaiming him to be a wingrider. “Thank you, sir.” The boy said respectfully, unable to stop himself from grinning a little. It was obvious the man was rather impressed indeed.

H’seo was struck by the skill the kid had. Even he, in all of his turns hunting about in the jungles, had not acquired such a precise aim. The tall, lanky rider had been returning from the feeding grounds when he spotted the boy, and was impressed when he saw how the kid shot. His grey eyes swept over the boy, and he could not place him. Of course, that was nothing too surprising, considering there were countless drudges in the lower caverns. However, the bluerider did not think that a mere drudge boy would be as well dressed as this archer, nor have such skill. It was likely he was a nearly Searched candidate. Holding out his hand, grinning, the farmboy drawled a greeting. “Name’s H’seo, and I ride blue Reinth. You must be a new candidate.”

Taking the proffered hand, shaking it firmly as was his custom, the boy grinned in turn. A real man had a real handshake. “I’m Kheron, and I an indeed a new candidate, Searched from Monaco Bay. I used to be a wrangler, so Beastmaster Conner taught me to shoot.”

“Wrangler, huh?” H’seo replied, grinning still. The kid was certainly an interesting one. “Conner sure knew how to shoot.” The bluerider’s gaze cast towards the long bow Kheron held, and he felt some of that rider competitiveness arise. “Mind if I try your bow out? I’ve been known to hit a good mark myself.”

Holding the longbow out, the candidate grinned at the rider, inclining his head to the tall man. “Of course, sir.” His quiver was slung on his shoulder, so he quickly pulled out an arrow, twirling it once in his hand so the feathered shaft was facing H’seo.

Raising a brow, the bluerider accepted the arrow, inwardly grinning like a fool. This would be fun. Knocking the arrow and drawing the bow, H’seo took a careful bead on the target, then let the arrow fly with a loud twang from the bowstring. It landed four inches from the kid’s arrow….four inches away from the center.

[Kristin]

It was just so liberating to run, Kivin thought. He could do it all day if he only had the stamina. Although his stamina now was pretty impressive. He also loved to run barefoot in the sand, he loved the feeling of sand slipping between his toes. Currently he was in fact running on the beach, his chores for the day done so he had nothing better to do. Toll... Well his firelizard was nowhere to be seen and Kivin had no idea where the brown was at. Probably socializing with the numerous firelizards and dragons in the Weyr. Toll loved weyrlife and had adjusted immediately. If only Kivin could say the same. He had been here for a while but he still didn't feel settled in yet. A big contributing factor to that, was that Kivin didn't really know anybody. His incredibly shy nature overcame his longing to make friends and he hadn't yet found the courage to take the first step and strike up a conversation with somebody. So far his life in Cerulean consisted of doing chores, eating, sleeping and taking care of Toll. He shared a living space with his fellow candidates but that was it, he was sure they didn't even notice him most of the time.

He had been so lost in thought that he didn't see the people ahead or hear them until he had almost arrived beside them. Kivin stopped in his tracks and observed with curiosity that they seemed to be practicing to shoot a bow. But Kivin thought that they looked like they didn't need much practice, both seemed very skilled, judging by the placement of the arrows. Kivin recognized one of them as Kheron, who was a candidate too. He didn't know who the older man was. Kivin had often almost started talking to Kheron but had always chickened out. The other boy looked like he was shy too and didn't have any friends either, Kivin was almost sure of that. But now he was almost breathing down their necks and he knew they must have noticed him, so it would be silly to just run away from them.

"Wow, you're really good," he said quietly, surprising himself with the ability to speak up. Maybe they would let him watch them practice, Kivin certainly couldn't take part in it, he'd never even held a bow before.

[Thorney]

H’seo scowled for a moment as he stared at their arrows, then grinned and shook his head, handing the longbow back to the candidate. “Conner sure knew what he was doing. How long have you practiced archery, boy?” The bluerider drawled, surprised that one so young had mastered the art so well. It took some serious skill to do what the kid had just done. He and Reinth loved nothing better than to spend their lazy afternoons hunting in the forest, and in his turns of felling beasts with the bow, he had never acquired such a keen eye and deadly hand.

“Three turns, sir.” Kheron replied, accepting the bow with a small grin of his own and knocking yet another arrow. He spoke as he pulled the bowstring taut and aimed. “I was drilled in speed-shots, trying to hit a mark from atop a galloping runner, until I hit the target in the center every time. I killed many felines attacking the cattle with this bow.” The rigid string loosed the arrow with a loud, sharp sound, sending it whistling through the air in the blink of an eye. It thudded next to the wrangler’s second arrow, again dead-center. A satisfied smile settled on the boy’s features, and he turned to the bluerider, a gleam in his cobalt eyes. Perhaps he was enjoying his prowess a bit too much, but it had been a quiet time here at Cerulean for the boy, and he was rather happy to have someone to talk to.

It was then the pair both noticed the arrival of another boy, who halted his run almost right on top of them, and both candidate and rider turned, grinning. They were not aware that they had attracted an audience, but the more the merrier!

Kheron knew this boy; he was a fellow candidate who would also stand at the next Impression. Though he had never had the chance to speak to Kivin, it seemed to the wrangler he was the quiet sort. Well, Kher was the quiet sort too, though he wasn’t shy in the least, he had just acquired a more observant personality since working with runners and herdbeasts. He generally listened more than he spoke. Smiling amiably, Kheron was almost embarrassed with yet another individual raining praise on him for his archery skill, but it was true that he and the bluerider were good shots with keen eyes. “Thanks.” The candidate replied, then grinned. “I’ve worked hard to become so. It’s Kivin, right?”

For his part, H’seo let the two young’ins go through their introductions before speaking, though it seemed the newcomer was complimenting his skill, too. Rubbing the back of his head thoughtfully, the wingrider grinned carelessly. “I’m alright, I reckon.” He drawled genially, replying to the candidate’s praise. “But this kid here has me whopped.” To say he was impressed was putting it mildly, too. “I’m H’seo, of blue Reinth.”

Stepping forward a bit, Kher offered his bow to the other candidate. “Would you like to join us?” He asked, smiling. He could use a friend at Cerulean. He was also fairly certain Kivin had a flit, and that would please Yumi to no end. She was asleep on his pillow at the moment, but no doubt she would be more than happy to meet a new face later, if the other boy was agreeable.

[Kristin]

Kivin outright beamed at Kheron. It was very nice to know that he wasn't entirely unnoticeable and that Kheron actually knew his name. He nodded shyly in response and bit his lip to try to stop his foolish grinning. The fact that it was actually Kheron who was the better archer surprised Kivin and he regarded his fellow candidate with the respect. When he'd first arrived, he'd assumed that the older one was tutoring Kheron, but apparently it was the rider that needed tutoring more.

The fact that the rider was bonded to a blue dragon made Kivin like him more because ever since he had been searched by a blue dragon, Kivin had liked them most out of all the dragons and he had to admit that he hoped to impress a blue the most of all the colors. He smiled shyly at H'seo.

When he was offered the bow, Kivin's eyes widened and he took a step back and held his hands in front of him as to try to protect himself from the bow. "I really think that me shooting from a bow would end disastrously," Kivin said embarrassed. "I wouldn't even know what to do, but if it doesn't bother you, are you okay with me watching you?"

[Thorney]

Kheron returned the other candidate’s grin, unsure if he was amused by the wrangler’s reply or if he was so pleased the ex-beastcrafter knew his name. Either way, the archer was more than happy to get to know a fellow rider-hopeful, and with any luck he could make a new friend at Cerulean too. It would be especially nice to make a companion from one as amiable as this boy seemed to be.

As he received a shy smile from the kid, H’seo grinned, wondering if he was just naturally bashful or if having a rider around was making him nervous. Well, he hoped that wasn’t the case. It had been a while since the bluerider had participated in a good old fashioned showdown, and it seemed he and Kheron were going to have just that. The candidate was a better shot than him, sure enough, but that didn’t take any of the fun out of going a few rounds with the kid. “Nice to meet ya, boy.” The tall rider said easily, smiling at Kivin.

Dropping the hand that held his bow, Kheron smiled at the other boy. “I’d be happy for you to stay. I haven’t really gotten to know anyone around here yet.” He admitted, a little embarrassed by that. Most of the other candidates had already forged friendships with each other, but the wrangler observed more than he spoke, and hadn’t been outgoing enough to join in their socializing. Though many would think him shy and not bother with him, in reality Kher was an open and friendly person, just not exactly a social butterfly. He glanced at the bluerider and offered the bow to him.

“Sure you can stay, kid.” H’seo said with a grin. If anyone was ever a sweethearted ‘good old boy’, it was him. As the wrangler handed the bow back to him, H’seo smirked to himself, knocking another borrowed arrow and taking a careful aim before firing. The twang of the bowstring was all he heard until he watched the arrow land only two inches from the center this time. The wingrider grinned. “Better that time.” He drawled jovially, winking at the other two.

Receiving the bow once again, Kheron knocked an arrow and took aim. “So where did you come from, Kivin? Where you born in the weyr or Searched?”

[Kristin]

That Kheron didn‘t know anyone either pleased Kivin. It just seemed easier somehow that they were both in need of friend. He seemed as embarrassed about it as Kivin was and looked like he was shy – like Kivin. Happy that they allowed him to stay, Kivin moved to stand beside Kheron, careful to not be in his way.

Kivin observed with interest when H’seo aimed carefully and then shot the arrow. When the arrow landed, Kivin released a breath that he didn’t know he had been holding in anticipation and looked smiling at the rider who also seemed happy with his shot. Then Kheron took the bow and Kivin silently whished that his arrow would beat H’seo’s. It wasn’t that he didn’t like the bluerider, he seemed really pleasant, it was just that this was young vs. old and Kivin really wanted his fellow candidate to best a grown rider.

Realizing that Kheron had asked him a question, Kivin ducked his head a little in embarrassment for not having answered straight away. “I grew up in Silver Cove Hold but I’ve been in the Healer Hall for the past four years. I arrived here not so long ago, when S’lain and Jaxith searched me.” He smiled fondly at the memory.

“What about you? Don’t you have a firelizard? A green right? What’s her name?” He had often seen a green beauty in the barracks and he knew that Toll had too. Toll wasn’t nearly as shy as his bonded and probably knew all the dragons and firelizards in the Weyr already. Speaking of Toll, where was that sharding firelizard anyway? Kivin was starting to miss him.

Remembering H’seo, Kivin turned to him, not wanting to ignore the rider. “How long have you been in a Weyr?” He couldn’t help that his voice was quieter when talking to H’seo. He just felt more at ease with his peers. Adults intimidated him, especially men because they sometimes reminded him of his father.

[Thorney]

Kheron watched with the other candidate as the bluerider shot once more, this time much closer to the center of the target. Grinning to himself, the ex-beastcrafter realized that H’seo was much better of an archer than he had first let on. “Good shot.” He complimented, nodding. Well, that was more than enough to spur the kid on as he once more took hold of the bow, knocking the arrow and directing his question at Kivin. The wrangler was curious to learn about the other boy, as he was really the first person to actually speak much to Kher at Cerulean. He could really use a friend.

Amber eyes gauging the target and the arrows already embedded in the wood, the candidate suddenly felt the urge to showcase his abilities a bit. Kheron was the farthest thing from an arrogant person, but he did somehow feel the tug to gain the respect of the bluerider and the boy behind him. Adjusting his trajectory slightly, the ex-beastcrafter measured his shot quickly before letting the arrow fly with a sharp twang, gaze intent upon the projectile. It landed with a loud thump, right between H’seo’s second arrow and his arrow that was dead-center. It lined up almost perfectly with his other two shots, and it was no small feat. Kher smiled slightly, inwardly pleased that he had not, in fact, lost any skill with his bow despite not having as much time to practice as before.

“Fall, fog, and fire, I ain’t ever seen anything like that!” H’seo drawled in surprise, grey eyes widening with shock. In all his turns of practice, never had the rider managed to gain that kind of skill. “Boy, I think I can hand this over to you. I know when I’m beat.” Inclining his head to the candidate with a grin, the obnoxiously-tall man took a seat on the other side of Kivin to watch the kid practice. Maybe he could learn something.

“Thank you, sir. Conner deserves the credit, though.” Turning to his fellow candidate as the other spoke, Kher smiled, wanting to learn more about the boy. “Silver Cove? I myself was born and raised in Monaco Bay, not too far away at all.” He was actually surprised that they had been raised in roughly the same area of the South, but that gave them some common ground to stand on, which pleased him. “Did you enjoy being a healer? I loved beastcrafting. I was a wrangler for a journeyman’s farm when I was Searched. I haven’t been here long either.” Pulling out his last arrow, the wrangler knocked it and aimed once more. “I do have a flit, actually, and yes she is a green. Her name is Yumi.” Kheron supplied, watching the arrow land as close to his other arrows as was possible. Turning with a grin, the boy tilted his head to the side, realizing that thinking of her so strongly was beginning to cause his sweet little pet to stir. She would probably pop up any time. “You have one too, right? I’ve seen you with a brown. Is he yours?”

When Kivin turned to speak to H’seo, the wrangler took the opportunity to jog over to the target, pulling out his arrows carefully. He had plenty of practice at that, and had made the target purposefully thin so he could get them out easier.

Gazing up from his spot on the sand, the bluerider smiled amiably, inwardly wondering why the kid appeared more nervous when speaking to him. Well, H’seo was a full-fledged rider, but he was just another man, nothing all that special. It wasn’t as if he was a bronzer.

Maybe he is just nervous with adults. Reinth asked, shifting slightly on his ledge and sighing contentedly in the sun.

Could be, partner.

“Aw, I’ve been in a weyr all my life.” He replied, grinning at the candidate. “I was born in Southern, and transferred to Silver Cove. ‘Course, I moved here after...Well, I’ve been here since Cerulean’s been a weyr.” The bluerider couldn’t bring himself to speak of the bloody last days of Silver Cove.

[Kristin]

Kivin whooped and laughed in glee when Kheron didn‘t disappoint. He wished he had a talent like Kheron but the only thing that Kivin was good at really was healing. He really missed healing but he didn‘t know how to make himself useful here. Especially since his specialty was a pretty useless form of healing. Or so had the other boys said a number of times. But it didn‘t matter, he knew that he really should go to the infirmary and ask if they needed him for something but both shyness and the fact that Kivin had enough to deal with trying to settle into the Weyr had prevented him from doing so. „Yes, I did enjoy healing very much.“ Only not the company there, he added silently. „My specialty is massage, but I‘m fairly good at the useful stuff too.“

The confirmation that Kheron also had a firelizard pleased Kivin because that meant it would be easier, for Kivin at least, to talk to Kheron, knowing they had something in common other than being candidates. „Yumi, that‘s a beautiful name,“ he said earnestly. „And yes, the brown is mine. His name is Toll and we‘ve been together for six turns now. But I have no idea where he is now.“ Kivin frowned slightly, uncomfortable with being away from his closest friend for a long time. „For how long have you had Yumi?“

Kivin nodded in understanding at H‘seo, unsure what to say. He knew that what happened in Silver Cove must have hit the surviving riders hard and the last thing he wanted to do was to remind H‘seo of it. He was saved from answering when Toll finally appeared in the air above him.

The firelizard flew to Kivin and settled on his shoulder, chirping excitedly. Disoriented scenes appeared in Kivin‘s mind of Toll bathing and socializing with a number of dragons and other firelizards. When Toll was done telling Kivin about his day, he glided to the ground and strutted to H‘seo. He stopped in front of the rider, standing proudly, and waited for H‘seo to pay attention to him. Kivin smiled softly at his firelizard‘s antics. „And that‘s Toll. He thinks he is very important and will expect you to treat him like he is.“

[Thorney]

Glancing slightly over his shoulder as Kivin gave a hoot and laughed, the wrangler grinned, glad to see the other boy loosening up slightly around him. He had seemed shy at first, but then again Kheron was more of a quiet, observant soul himself, and he was happy they were hitting it off so well. “Healing always seemed like it would be a difficult craft; all the medicines, remedies, and procedures to set broken bones and skin to be memorized sounds complicated indeed. Always had healthy respect for healers.” The candidate said, and he truly did. Though beastcrafting was a dangerous business in the South, considering the feline problem, healing was far, far more complex, and lives hung in the balance rather than just a herd of cattle. Yes, he did respect the craft deeply.

When Kivin complimented his flit’s name, warm memories came rushing back. “Thank you.” Kher replied, smiling. “My friend back at the ranch, Riona, named her. I found the clutch while riding my runner, Calan, in the jungle.” The eggs were nearly completely hidden among the dense foliage underfoot, but the ex-beastcrafter had a trained eye, and he was constantly on the lookout for a wild feline or other threat. Calan had almost stomped the first of them before Kheron had sharply reined him in and saved the clutch. To his surprise, and delight as well, the boy had found himself bonded to a sweet, dusky green, a quiet and calm one for her color and very affectionate with him. Sleek and muscular, she was bigger than other greens and tended to keep pace with browns and bronzes, much to his surprise. “I’ve had Yumi for three turns now. The brown of yours, Toll, is a handsome one.” If memory served, he was built sleek like his green, only less muscular.

H’seo had a feeling the kid was quieted by his mention of Silver Cove, but the bluerider couldn’t blame him. It was a dark, horrible memory, and he tried to relive it in his mind as little as possible. He was saved, however, by the arrival of a noisy flit, and the tall, lanky man grinned. Ah, so here was the brown the candidates had been talking about. Grey eyes following the firelizard as it winged down before him and swaggered over, the wingrider chuckled. “Howdy, little one.” He drawled amiably. H’seo didn’t have any food on him, or he would have offered it. Reaching out with the intent to scratch the little fellow’s back if he was agreeable, the man waited to see if Toll would hop back, or allow him.

Returning to the rider and candidate after having gathered his arrows, Kheron grinned at the brown flit and H’seo. Speaking of flits…reaching across their bond, he could feel Yumi waking up, and he sent her greetings along their mental link. The dusky green loved being with her chosen more than anything, so when she cleared the haze of sleep from her mind, she leapt off the pillow and betweened, sweeping before Kheron and trilling her happiness at seeing him. “There you are.” The candidate said affectionately, turning to Kivin. “This is Yumi. Yumi, meet Kivin.” Chirping curiously, the sleek flit landed on the wrangler’s shoulder, watching the other boy.

[Kristin]

Kivin watched Toll as the brown graciously allowed H‘seo to scratch him. He was indeed handsome as Kheron had said and Kivin felt proud of being bonded to the firelizard. He had never loved anyone as much as him and he knew that even if he wouldn‘t impress, he wouldn‘t be that disappointed because he already was bonded to someone. Well Toll wasn‘t big and Kivin couldn‘t fly on him and they couldn‘t talk to each other but otherwise Toll was almost as good as a dragon.

It wasn‘t long before Kheron‘s own firelizard appeared and she was just as lovely as Kivin remembered. She was big for a green while Toll was small for a brown so the difference in sizes wasn‘t very big. Kivin stood up to go closer to Kheron and Yumi and smiled cheerfully at the green. "Hello Yumi, you‘re a very beautiful green aren‘t you?" Toll apparently agreed because after basking in H‘seo‘s attention for a while he left the bluerider to go inspect Yumi. Toll landed on Kivin‘s shoulder and watched the green firelizard for a while before he flew up in the air to go closer to Yumi, making exciting noises.

Kivin smiled at Toll‘s antics. He was constantly amazed by his brown‘s ability to go up to people, dragons or firelizards and instantly make friends with them. There was not a shy bone in Toll‘s body, contrary to Kivin. Although Kivin was rather pleased with himself today. He had made the first move in getting to know those two here and it was going so well too. He decided that he definitely wanted to get to know those two better. Kivin was a very curious young man. "How old are you? Do you have a family?" He looked at both H‘seo and Kheron to make it clear that he was asking both of them.