[X] Target Practice {For Phoebe and anyone else}

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[Character of the Month]

Character of the Month
Prince Caspian

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Played by Cara

"Cara has managed to...create a character that is both mythical and life-like. Impulsive, moody, and yet kind and good-hearted, Caspian is just beginning to show the makings of a true leader."
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[Swiftshadow]

Thwack. Swiftshadow’s arrow landed right in the center of the target for the third time in the row.   Satisfied with her work, she began to walk down the line of gathered archers.  By now, they should have all had time to warm up and remind their bodies how to shoot an arrow.  While Swiftshadow knew that an enemy would not give them time to do this, she did not feel like correcting the stupid mistakes that were typically made by less experienced archers at the beginning of a practice. 

As two centaurs hit their targets, Swiftshadow nodded in approval before moving along the line.  It was in all a rather eclectic mix of Narnians that had gathered for this practice, though a majority of them were indeed centaurs. A faun, a few dwarves, and even a beaver could be seen as Swiftshadow’s eyes traveled across the line. She felt a sense of satisfaction at the fact that so many varied creatures had come to her for instruction.

The centauress was in her own opinion a superlative archer. Most Narnians, however, had never picked up a bow before Caspian came. To help solve this problem, Swiftshadow had begun some time ago to hold these optional daily practices, open to anyone who wanted to improve their skill.   While the practices were not immensely popular – and in truth, she was glad not to have to deal with a crowd – a line of a dozen archers was commonplace. 

Adjusting the placement of an arm here, and calling out a bit of advice there, Swiftshadow continued down towards the last target. What she saw there made her purse her lips in disapproval.  The archer was a young human female Telmarine.  What was with all the Telmarines in camp these days?  First, she was submitted to the indignity of having to listen to the advice of one, and now she was having to train another? It was ridiculous. Was she the only one who remembered all the evil the Telmarines had done to the Narnians? Glaring at the girl as if she were at fault for the entire Telmarine invasion, Swiftshadow crossed her arms and waited to see the girl shoot.

[Phoebe Hale]

   It was after only her first week of stay in the Narnian camp that Phoebe had truly welcomed new and more challenges to this new life she had chosen for herself; a life of a rebel, a soldier, someone who fought for independence; one who fought for an idea she was certainly very fond of. She had hoped that she would do better here. Taking a first time to take her protective little ragged and rugged red shawl off off her rounded shoulders and leaving her rucksacks and satchel in her tent where she was currently staying, the  young Telmarine human girl had slipped out of her traveling clothes at once. Ever since she had arrived, she had been wearing some dirty boy’s outfit she had stolen –practically stolen- from a boy in town on her way to camp. She had been mistaken for a boy many a time because of what she was wearing, and fooled (almost) everyone because of her disguise as a common human boy. The boy’s clothes had fit her well. If it weren’t for her flat chest, her legs and some cap she wore over her head and also the athletic body she had, the clever costume might not have worked actually. She was sort of thankful for that and the facts has allowed her to live, even after all what she had done that was all horrid, and awful, even. She had stolen. She had lied. She had cussed. She had pretended to be a boy. She had studied the arts and sciences. She had played music. She had written of dreams, dreams that were forbidden to be dreamed in a place or even a time like this.

   She had only dared. In fact, though the possibilities had seemed limitless for other people, possibilities about what would happen to Phoebe if this war would end, she would have reached her limits. Her parents back home had only wanted for her to marry and have descendants. That was the last thing on Phoebe Hale’s mind right now, sorry. Getting married and bearing children would have to wait because heck, for some reasons. Firstly, Phoebe was only fifteen. Secondly, she didn’t ask for it. Thirdly, she had pledged her heart already – to her dreams and ideas and Old Narnia. Fourthly, she wanted something else. Fifthly, there were more important things to consider after all. Such occupied Phoebe’s thoughts now as she stood in front of the small mirror she had bought all the way here, looking at her reflection. She was clad in a tunic and breeches and belt now; her eyes flashed blue; her full lips twisted in the vaguest hint of a small smile. Her hair was her problem – it was blond and it was tied in a ponytail down her shoulders. With an eye-roll, she ran out to look around the camp. And the sight of a centaur archer had amazed her. 
 
       Watching the centauress aim expertly, Phoebe had felt a sudden jolt of her nerves. The kind made her heart flutter; the kind that made her feel a pang of jealousy to see how better the other archer was than she was at all. She had just seen and heard the thwack of the arrow that flew from its bow.  Envious, she suddenly felt the urge to make the best of staying in the Narnian camp, after all. She had called to let the centauress know she wanted some lessons. Taking her own quiver of arrows on her back she wore, she took a few steps like she was approaching a husky boar. She extended her weapon, facing the target. She closed one eye, and felt the wind. It was there. With one tug, she released the arrow. It flew. There with the wind it did. It was fast. But not really much. Expertly it landed beside the target, where the centuaress's arrow had landed.

[Swiftshadow]

Swiftshadow glowered at the girl as she drew back her bow and shot, noting every imperfection in her stance and technique.  The girl seemed to pay no attention to the glares, however, which rather irritated the centauress. Though she wouldn’t have said so aloud, Swiftshadow had rather hoped to intimidate this slip of a Telmarine.   To her further annoyance, the Telmarine’s arrow hit the center of the target. 

“Not bad,” Swiftshadow said grudgingly.  Obviously the girl had had at least some practice in archery before she’d joined the Narnian camp, which was more than could be said of most of the soldiers here. She was definitely no expert, but there was at least a possibility that she could prove to be an asset to the army…if she didn’t betray them all, first. King Caspian was the only Telmarine Swiftshadow trusted even just a little bit, and she wasn’t even sure he counted as a Telmarine. He had been tutored by Doctor Cornelius for years, after all.

“Your strength leaves something to be desired, though,” the centauress continued, quickly moving from praise to criticism.  The arrow had not flown too slowly, but the girl had had the advantage of the wind. A much further target, or any amount of headwind, and the arrow would have fallen short.  Then again, Swiftshadow expected little better from human females, who tended to lack the muscles of centaurs of the same sex.  Some Daughters of Eve, like the legendary Queen Susan, were able to overcome this handicap and become world-renowned archers, but most fell far behind centauresses in ability.  Telmarines in particular, Swiftshadow thought with a sniff and a condescending look at the female in front of her, tended to raise their girls to do nothing other than care for babies.

“Is that your bow?” Swiftshadow asked, trying to discern how much the lack of speed could be blamed on unfamiliar equipment.

((So sorry for the short and crappy reply, and that you had to wait so long!))

[Phoebe Hale]

"Yes," said Phoebe, her tone kind of dead with buried respect and curiosity. The girl even wondered why the centauress bothered asking her if the bow was her. For everyone's information, it was hers. It was only one of the things that she hadn't actually stolen. 'So what's wrong? It's like, the only thing I didn't have to steal on the way here," she muttered, hiding her blush. Her color rose for the centauress' criticism didn't leave much for her to be seen. She was glad there was the wind. For it had proved her luck and skill in archery. She was only a beginner, having worked on it for only two long years, of her age. At thirteen it was her brother who had given her her first bow and had taught her.

"It was my own brother who taught me," she added hastily. Nervous, the girl sucked in air. A breeze flew by, messing up her knotted flaxen hair. Her eyes only flashed and she felt out of place as a Telmarine among the Old Narnians. The centauress looked rather cross at her for having yelled impudently, unlike so many Telmarine girls who would and could have chastised Phoebe for the outburst. It was so unladylike to do so but the girl didn't even give a care. She was too worried to think about it. Her stomach was queasy and she was sure she wasn't hungry at all. A knot held her belly tightly, and she was stiff as a statue, quite feeling unlike her real self at all.

With the atmosphere at a war mode, she couldn't doubt it. She was so unlucky. She closed her eyes firmly, wishing she was a boy again. All her life she wanted to be one. She hated being a girl often. All the talk of marriage and raising babies and being chastised for letting her feelings out at a "barbaric" way didn't quench her spirit. It was bad enough she lived in a bad time. She hated herself for acting and being so unlike a girl and more like a normal boy. As she breathed the air, she sighed. There was nothing she could do now. Trouble had found her. And it was the worst day of her life yet.

[Swiftshadow]

Swiftshadow was quite unsurprised to hear that the girl had stolen to get here.  She was a Telmarine, and  in the centauress’ experience, all Telmarines (saving His Majesty) were thieves.  They’d stolen the Narnians’ land and their freedom.  A small voice in Swiftshadow’s mind pointed out that at least the girl had likely stolen from other Telmarines, but she firmly squashed that voice.  It just went to prove that Telmarines couldn’t help stealing, even from one another. 

“What’s wrong,” Swiftshadow echoed, with a slight amount of condescension, “is that you’re not pulling your bow far back enough.” Surely the girl should have been able to figure out on her own, from earlier comments.  “I don’t know who your brother is,” – likely some farmboy who only shot for game, Swiftshadow thought – “but while you do have the basics, you still have  much to learn, and quickly. Miraz isn’t going to wait for your shooting to improve before he attacks.” At least this girl was out practicing, she conceded grudgingly.  She thought back to her conversation with Reepicheep and scowled.

“We’ll have to go through this step-by-step, I think,” Swiftshadow said with a sigh, as if this wasn’t something she did often, though the truth was that it was commonplace for her at these practices, if not with her own archers.  “Assume your stance.” The best stance for every creature was different, and Swiftshadow had to admit – to herself, if not to the girl – that she didn’t know humans enough to know what was best for the species.  She could correct any obvious mistakes, however, and then move on.

((Even shorter and later, argh!))