| Trading Lessons |
| Summary: | Archery lessons for Anais lead to a promise of dancing lessons for Kain. |
| Date: | 23/June/2012 |
| Related Logs: | The previous Kain log |
| Players: |
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| The Lists — Seagard |
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| The lists are prepared for a great number of both knights and spectators, the flat field already marked by the hooves of many practice-runs. It is surrounded by a rail, most of which borders only empty grass, where the commoners might stand and watch. On one side are stands built for the nobles, wooden bleachers topped with billowing silk awnings to help shade the ladies from the sun. At the centerpoint there is a raised platform, painted, shaded, and set with sumptuous-looking chairs for the most noble of noble guests. It is hung with the banners of House Mallister and House Redwyne, and many more are studded about the lists as well, to make sure everyone remembers who this grand affair is meant to honor and at whose pleasure they enjoy it. |
| June 23, 289 |
Even in a packed city, Kain stands alone. The fields have long since been cleaned as the lists have now passed, leaving nothing but a dirt field between the two sets of stands. Nothing's going on, and with the exception of the few men litterred about cleaning up from the festivities from last night's team melee, the ranger is content to stand by himself on the field. There is a target set up thirty yards away from him, a decent distance. And with bow in hand, the hooded hunter puts arrow after arrow into the target. The movement is smooth and fluid; draw arrow from quiver, knock, pull back, aim, release. It's almost mechanical, the same action repeated the same way without hesitation. His body forms a solid T shape when he pulls back the full draw. While not every arrow strikes the bullseye, almost all of them strike the target at some area, were he closer it might be a different story, but he's going for accuracy from long distance.
With so many of the gentlemen of the camps heading out for a day's worth of drinking, Anais has a chance to indulge in a few of her less socially acceptable urges. Like archery. So as people headed out for drinks, she took out her new bow, changed into a sleeveless dress with slimmer skirts, and made her way to the lists where she'd heard Kain was practicing. When she reaches him, she waits at a respectful distance, taking a moment to string the bow. She must have already been practicing herself, because it's a much smoother motion than it was the day before.
"Nature, nuture, heaven, and home. Sum of all, and by them, driven. To conqouer every mountain shown. But I've never crossed that river." Is Kain singing? Seems so odd of a man seems so aloof, or maybe it's because it's not so odd at all. "Braved the forests, braved the stone. Braved the icy winds and fire. Braved and beat them on my own. Yet I'm helpless by the river." Even as he sings, his voice has a distant quality to it, like he's not really 'there', like he's somewhere else entirely. But if one looks and listens hard enough, the way he sings, it's a beat to his shooting. Every line he sings is a motion. The drawing of an arrow, the pulling back of the string, the release. The song has a steady beat and his voice isn't, well it's not the most amazing thing in the world, but it's not horrible either.
Anais watches and listens as Kain shoots, taking a few quiet steps to stand behind him where she can practice her own form while watching him. It's not so much an attempt to sneak up on him - she's just not that good at sneaking - as an attempt not to interrupt whatever he's working on. She starts with her grip, trying to remember the way he explained it the day before and shifting where she holds the bow until she feels a good balance on the wood. Still watching the hunter, she takes up her stance. One thing to be said for being a proper lady: it does provide one with excellent posture.
"Angel angel, what have I done? I've faced the quakes, the wind, the fire. I've conqoured country, crown, and throne. Why can't I cross this river?" Kain sings softly, letting the last arrow go, and only then does he let the bow down, watching it land near the bullseye. A deep breath is released, as if the man was coming back to whatever other 'place' he was inhabiting, as if his soul was returning to his body. "My Lady," he says without having to turn to face her. At least his body was paying attention to people approaching. "You wear a particular oil. Some kind of flower?" Then, he turns to face her, eyeballing her stance. "Did you stretch last night and morning like I asked you to?"
"Pine," Anais answers with a faint smile. "And juniper, and amber." Not particularly delicate scents, or ladylike as most of the Riverlands. "And I did stretch, yes," she nods like a dutiful student. At his attention, she stiffens just a bit, trying to hold a proper stance, only to take a deep breath and try to force herself to relax once more. There's something of dance in the motion, of trying to maintain strength and frame with grace and motion.
"Pine." Kain replies. "The combination is what had me curious. I like it." he replies. Then he nods approvingly. "Good. I don't want you pulling a muscle and thus making people wonder what you've been up to." Maybe he's looking out for her well-being too, not just physically. "I want you seperate your feet a bit. Just past the width of you shoulders. Distrubute the weight evenly on both of your feet. When you're comfortable with that, I want you to practice drawing back without actually pulling the string. If you're not comfortable, you won't shoot well. I want you to get used to the motion of keeping your drawing straight back and level. No chicken winging." Simple, start with the simple things first.
"It's from home," Anais says of the scent, though she doesn't linger on the idea. Instead, she adjusts herself to his instruction, glancing down to check where her feet are. When skirts make that difficult, she pauses, tucking the bow under her arm before pulling her skirts up just a bit beneath her belt. Not enough to show any scandalous ankle, but enough to let at least the idea of feet be seen. It seems she takes instruction well, perhaps thanks to uncounted dance lessons that have made her familiar with her own body. And with moving without a partner. She shifts her weight from foot to foot a few times until she settles it evenly, if a bit toward her toes. Too much dance, perhaps. And then she holds the bow in one hand, and slowly draws the other back.
Kain doesn't seem to pay attention to the dress lifting, only that her feet are in the best place for her to shoot. "Good, loosen your body, you want to be ridig but too much so. Your body is the tree that sways in the wind, but doesn't break. If you're going to learn to hunt, you will have to learn to change and adapt as the situation changed." Watching her draw back a few times, he reaches out to correct her drawing arm only slightly. "Straight back, not out." he says. He plucks out an arrow from his quiver that's strapped to his thigh. Using it as a visual aid, the feather touch her knuckles that draw back the imaginary bowstring, the other end pointing outward, as an extension. "Where are you aiming, my Lady?" No, he has not gotten used to calling her by that yet.
"Aiming?" Whoops. Anais glances up to Kain, cheeks flushing with a faint, crooked smile. "I wasn't. I should be, though, shouldn't I? Because it will change the way I stand." She draws a breath, giving her neck a slow roll to loosen the muscles before settling into a more fluid stance, sinking her weight back toward her heels a bit more. The balance between structure and flexibility, at least, seems to be something she can accomplish easily enough. Still, as she shifts to aiming, she has a little more trouble keeping the whole still and focused.
"Always have a target in mind." Kain instructs. "And right now, your arrow would be pointing…right about here." The line that arrow touching against her knuckles makes a line that veers away from the target and them. "Your other hand is your first sight. The two fingers and thumb you hold the bow with, look closely. Your thumb and index finger should shape into a V. Do you see it? This is your first sight."
Anais draws a deep breath, letting it out slowly as she closes her eyes to try to center her concentration. A few breaths later, and she opens her eyes once more, sighting down the arrow. "So you're saying I should be focusing on where I'm holding the bow, rather than the target?" she asks, glancing back to Kain. "Or is it more a little bit of both?"
"We're starting small right now. I want you to get used to looking down your sight." Kain replies. "Once you're used to that, we'll work on looking past the sight, once doing so is natural to you. When that happens, you'll be ready to track moving targets. But for now, let's just focus on the basics. There are things you're ready for and things you're aren't, but I want to make sure you have your stance down, holding your bow properly and taking back your draw right. Once you've done all these things enough, that will be enough. We're not going to go into shooting arcs or trajectories for a bit. Infact…" he looks down at the target and how far away they are. "Let's move closer. We'll try this distance after a few lessons, but I don't want you to concern yourself with arrow flight too much right now."
"I'm terrible with moving targets," Anais admits. "And arcs, and trajectories. I mean, I understand the math of them," she adds, breaking her stance to move closer at his direction. "But I've mostly only ever just hit targets, and not from very far away. When the Ironborn tried to take the walls, I managed to hit one." Yeah, she sounds proud about that. "But it took me four shots, and I was terrified I was going to hit /our/ guard in the process. I think if they hadn't been on the walls I would've been afraid to shoot at all, for fear of hurting someone else."
"It comes with time. They shoved you on the walls because they had to. Or unless you wanted to." Kain replies. "Of course you would be scared? You were shooting at living beings. Inflicting pain is nothing to ever take lightly." There's a lesson building here as the hunter speaks. "Your actions, do you ponder them? Do you question the why and how? And you think of the reprcussions that your actions will make? Everything we do are drops of rain on a still pond. The ripples it creates, the distance that it carries. Now imagine, so many people, nobles, commoners…many people is it not. Seems like like a rain storm on a lake when you consider everyone's actions. It is chaos, it creates…discourse in our spirits. Take heed, Annie. When we go hunting, we will do so to kill an animal. To take it's life. We judge and condemn them. They may be animals, but the act we still make. It is a nessceary, but it is never pretty. And what you do here, you are learningn to defend yourself, which is respectable. But don't forget that this serves a dual purpose. There may come in your life where you must level this weapon against another person. And when that time time comes, you will learn what kind of person you truly are."
"The kind of person who won't lie down and die," Anais answers with a slight grimace, taking up her stance once more as they draw closer to the target. "It was the middle of the night, and it was taking some time for the men to get back to the walls. I stayed by the doors to the hall, but I shot. I don't know if it killed him, but I'm not sorry if it did. He would have done worse to me if they'd taken the keep." Her jaw sets a bit, and she has to breathe again to ease the tension from her shoulders.
There's something in Kain's expression as he looks at her. Respect, maybe? Maybe she's more than he thinks. "It's one thing to say it, but another to do it. But you did do it, even if you were scared. And…it's alright to be scared, but you can't let show in your marksmanship. This." he reaches out to wrap his hand around the top part of her bow. "When men and arms have failed, the only person you can rely upon to survive is yourself. This will save your life if you treat it right" There's a deadly certainly in his voice, as if he knows, and by the beginnings of a bear's claw mark that peeks out at his neck, he's had to test it. "I will teach you to survive. I can show you the path, but it is you that will have take the steps. Now, take a breath, releast the stress from your body. Go back to that place where it is just you. When you're ready, bow up, take an arrow and knock it."
Anais nods to Kain, firm. "That much my uncle taught me. He said I had to have the mindset before he'd let me use a bow." She pauses, smile quirking up to the hunter. "I think he expected that to keep me out of it." And then at his instruction, she nods once more, drawing a deep breath and releasing it with a shift of her posture that banishes the stiffness from her shoulders. It takes less time now than it did the night before, finding that quiet place, as the ease of practice starts to settle back into her mind.
Kain walks in a half circle around her, watching her movements. "Good." he says. "There is no land under your feet, there is no Seagard, no Westeros, no nothing. There is only you and the bow. Mute the sound of the city out of your mind. Listen only to my voice." His steps as he walks around make no noise, and it might seem like his voice is coming around from all sides the way he almost glides about. The arrow that had been in his hand is set into Anais' empty one. "Knock the arrow, and draw back your bow."
Anais nocks and starts her draw in a smooth motion, though she pauses once she's done it. "No, that wasn't quite right," she murmurs to herself, lowering the bow again and trying slower this time. This time, she manages to hold his instruction in her mind at the same time, and though it's slower, the form is closer to what he's told her to do. Although she still only manages to draw the string back to the corner of her mouth before her elbow starts to waver.
Her wobbliness doens't seem to bother Kain that much. "The strength will come to you in time. Time is required, my Lady. Nothing was built in a day, and something like takes work." He doesn't let her hold the bowstring back, coming up her opposite side, getting close up to her, extending his hand. "Look through the sigh you've created. Line it up with the target. Place the target in V your finger and thumb create. When you're ready, take in one last breathe and when you exhale, release. Realease the hand, do not pull your hand away. Just release it."
<FS3> Anais rolls Marksmanship: Great Success.
Anais nods slightly to the last, a fine tremor running across her shoulders as she tries to hold the bow steady. Sighting down the arrow, she takes a slow breath, then another until her arm is more steady. Aching, but steady. And as she lets the breath out with a pursing of her lips, she releases the string. Perhaps surprisingly, the arrow flies straight and true, thunking into the center ring, if not the exact center of it.
Kain watches on at her posture, her foot placement, her arm straightness, everything that it takes to shoot a bow decently and not just half assed. Then she releases, the ranger's cerulean eyes tracing it's flight to watch it hit the center ring amid of arrows of his own. "Good. -Very- good. You learn quickly and you adapt well." he says, sound pretty pleased by this. "Now, do it again so we can make sure you truly are doing everything right. It looks like you are, but I'd like to repeat exactly what you just did."
<FS3> Anais rolls Marksmanship: Good Success.
Anais looks up with a flicker of a smile for the praise, though she tries to modulate it appropriately. There's certainly something to be said for the quality of instruction at the Banefort, at least. She takes another arrow at his direction, then squares herself to the target once more. A deep breath, and she draws once more, managing to pull the string further back. She doesn't quite accommodate for the additional force, though, and this time while the arrow still flies straight and swift, it hits the next ring out from the center, slightly high.
Exuberance, Kain chalks that up when he watches her more and then the arrow lands where it does. "Don't try to do more than what you can do for right. Pulling the bow back that seems to work just fine for you, right now." he says when he see how Anais tries to pull back farther than she previously did. "I know you want to be able to get a full pull on the bow, we all do. We want the power, the speed that comes along with it. But only when you've mastered the accuracy required to be able to pull it back that far." As an example, he draws another arrow, knocks it and pulls it back. "When you don't have the strength for a pull you do this," he says, showing what happens. The arrow doesn't sit against the side of the bow, lifting off to the side due to a fake shaking of his arm. "You see? Until you develoup the strength to pull it back that far, you risk losing accuracy." Slowly letting the bow back to normal, he seems to ponder. "Do you have anything wight weight to it in your room at the Roost?"
Anais' brows rise at that question, and she tilts her head to consider it. "Maybe?" she says, lips pursing in thought. "I don't know of anything off the top of my head, though. I mean, everything has /some/ weight, but I can't think of anything particularly dense. You're saying there should be something I can lift to help with the strength, though, yes?"
Kain nods. "Not something overly large. Perhaps something the size of a loaf of bread." Kain replies. "If you can find something in your room, in the keep, I'd like to you do curls with it." he says, demostrating the motion with his bow. "Do this in the morning, then stretch your arms. The weight, -then- the stretch. That is, if you can. Getting a full draw takes a decent amount of strength, for a man or a woman. There are some warbows that I can't even get a full draw on." Then he looks to consider the target. "You have talent, my Lady. Don't let anyone ever tell you differently. You have the grace and poise of a true hunter. It's shame you have been directed to other things. So much potencial."
Anais practically beam back at Kain at the praise. It takes so little, really, to earn that smile. "Thank you," she says warmly, taking a quick look around before stepping forward to try to catch him in a brief hug. "Thank you. I mean, I know it isn't the most appropriate skill for a lady, but…Well. It's easier to this on my own than it is to dance."
Oh gods, she's hugging him. She's hugging Kain. He freezes for an instant, not really sure what to do, but at her words, he can't help but wrap her arms around her in response to that. "Nonsense, when you look at the life the I live, my Lady, any skill that helps you survive, to get through life, is a skill worth having. You know very well that a man at arms or knight will not always be around should danger befall you. You need to know these things, for your own saftey. A woman is just as capable as a man, and you are proving that right now. There are some soliders that couldn't hit the broadside of a barn. Yes, I know it's odd for me to say such a thing, but, sometimes I feel your gender should be respected more." Then, as he breaks away, he peers at her, pulling down his hood. "You dance?"
Anais laughs at the question, a musical sound, as she draws back from the hunter. "My dear friend, I am one of the very best when it comes to dancing," she replies with no little pride, stepping back and sweeping a dancer's curtsey. "It's where I learned to balance my posture, actually. A dancer has to be graceful, but also structured. Strong and powerful without looking like you're trying. Besides, it's fun. And people don't generally get upset about dances."
"Do you know now?" Kain seems to ponder something. Then he looks a bit nervous at her display of movement. "You move very well." he says, looking down at his own feet. "Well, then I think you'd make a fine dancer and archer equally." Suppose that's a hard concept for the ranger to grasp, but if she has the talent for it, he doesn't seem to care if she's a woman. Talen comes from anywhere. "I…well, that's one thing you certainly know more about than I do. I'm pretty sure I have two left feet when it comes to dancing."
Anais sighs, rolling her eyes with a fond smile. "I swear, every man ever says he has two left feet and couldn't possibly dance. Yet you'll all run into a fight and dance about all afternoon trying not to get hit. Besides, if know how to dance helps me with archery, then knowing archery should be able to help you to dance," she adds. Tilting her head to one side, she considers the hunter. "Would you like me to show you a few basic steps?"
"Well…" Kain nervousness increases. "I'm sorry, my Lady, I'm not used to this." he finally admits. "You are only the second noble who's ever given me more than a passing glance. I'm…yes, I'd like to learn how to dance, but it's not something I just go around simply asking people. That just seems…odd." Years of being told to wary, to be watchful fight again him. "I don't know how to dance, so being asked by a beautiful woman when a talent for archery is." he can't help but chuckle. "It's sobering."
Anais' smile quirks, amused. "It's only a fair trade, Master Kain," she reassures him. "You're showing me archery, and maybe even some hunting later. I'm sure I can show you a few things in return. Granted, there are hundreds of different dances, and they all have their own nuances, but I can show you a few things that should get you by with a pretty maid or two. Do you know the real secret of it?" Her smile is crooked as she lowers her voice to a confessional tone. "We don't really expect men to be /skilled/ dancers. We just want them to take the lead, guide us through a few turns, and…Well. I suppose it's less true of the commons, but for us it's a chance to touch someone without people thinking there's something inappropriate going on."
"I guess that makes sense." Kain replies. She's good at glossing over his comments and that's probably for the better, because the hunter is nothing if not honest. That's what you get wearing everything that you are on your chest. "If you believe that's a fair trade, then I can accept those terms. If there's one thing I've learned in my years is that everyone always has something to teach, to learn from, thought not what everyone teaches is good. Some of it is quite bad." Then he flushes, looking away. "You don't want to know the last time I touched a woman. In any way. I suppose I'm a bit jealous of married couples. Everyone needs someone." He coughs into his fist. "So, my Lady, what would you like to do? Me continue to teach, or you doing the teaching for a change?"
Anais' brows rise slightly as Kain talks about touching a woman, and marriage, and needing people. "No, it's probably best we don't talk about that," she agrees, a glimmer of amusement in her features. And that's all she has to say about that. "Anyhow. Why don't we shoot for a little longer, and then tomorrow when I feel like my arms are made of lead, then I can show you a few basic dances?" she suggests. "That way it should be fresh in your mind when the dance after the tournament comes."
"That's…" Kain flinches a little bit. "No, not like -that-. I gave the wrong impression." he correct himself hastily, feeling the need to. "I mean companionship that goes beyond the physical." A shrug follows. "Sorry, I enjoy my solitude, but something you see what other people have and think perhaps that'd be just as good for you too." The hunter may be the Zen master, but he's still human. Even he gets lonely, even it's just for a few friends. There's a shift in his face, as if he's mentally setting aside emotions, letting rationality and logic rule him over as it usually. "Alright, it's probably for the best that I watch you shoot more, anyhow. But I don't want you wearing your arms out. But the more you do it, the more they become used to it."
"No, I understand that," Anais says quietly about companionship, something slightly sad in her smile. "I wouldn't look to most noble marriages for examples of it, though," she adds, adopting her stance once more and taking another arrow. "The lucky ones have it. My mother and father are comfortable together. And Lord Jerold clearly loved Lady Evangeline. But when you don't have much choice in your marriage and the first priority is advantage for both houses, sometimes you're lucky just to be able to live with each other." They're words that might have held more emotion just the day before, but with her mind on the focus of an arrow, they're more analytical than emotional.
"To be honest, I don't really know much about your relationships. I make a point not to." Kain admits. "I just see what I see and while it's probalby not what I see, it's still…well, it's someone." Then he continues to watch on. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up anything painful. I'm sorry if you sometimes don't have a choice. I…well, there's nothing I can really say to make better, is there?"
<FS3> Anais rolls Marksmanship: Good Success.
"Not really," Anais murmurs, drawing back the arrow and narrowing her focus to the target and her grip on the bow. "It's not that painful, though. Just…the way things are." This time, as she releases the arrow, she draws back her hand slightly. Once again, the arrow thunks into the target just high of the center ring, and she wrinkles her nose. "I pulled back too much, didn't I?" she asks, drawing another arrow and nocking it to the bow without looking at Kain.
"At least you're honest about it." Kain replies, sound like he approves of that. Folding his arms across his chest, he nods. "Don't pull to release the arrow, just release it. Just open your hand, don't tug on the string when you release, you put too much vibration into the string when you do that" His face has gone passive, watching her actions carefully. "If things were different, Annie," he poses to her. "What do you think you would do, if you were givent he freedom to do it?"
<FS3> Anais rolls Marksmanship: Success.
"If what things were different?" Anais asks, taking more time to adjust her stance and make certain everything is level as she aims this time. "There are a great deal of things that would have to change in the world, I think. I'd like to sail. I'd like to be allowed to ride. I'd like to be trusted with my own life. I'd like to swim, and run, and climb. I always loved the stories about Dorne. But I can't help but think that maybe it's all just…stories. Maybe Dornish girls sit at home and think they wish they could be like girls in the Westerlands." She lets out her breath, releasing the arrow, but jerking with a slight hiss when the bowstring slaps the inside of her forearm. The arrow hits the target, but not at the center.
"You know you can have some of those things, even if a marginally." Kain suggests to her. "Horse riding shouldn't be disallowed to you. I don't know how to help you with sailing but, well other things. I may not be able to help others let you be in charge of your own life, but I can help you find time in your life where your life is your own. Swimming, climbing, running…these are not things outside of your reach, but you just have to know people and let them help you." Watching the foul shot, he just nods. "I'll need to get you an armguard." he observes. Dorne. That word strikes him. He reaches to his neck, pulling out a necklace that's been around his neck. Taking it off, he shows her the symbol it's made out of. A spear peircing a sunburst. "My Lady, I know of Dorne. The things you have heard of it, I can tell you that they are all true."
<FS3> Anais rolls Heraldry: Great Success.
"Are they?" A small smile curves, wistful, as Anais considers that. "Perhaps I should have travelled there instead of the Riverlands," she says with a soft laugh. Rubbing at her arm, she pauses when he pulls out the pendant, head tilting. "That's the emblem of house Martell," she says with some surprise, reaching out to take a closer look and arching a brow at the hunter. "I thought your family had grown up at the Roost, though?"
"My father did. My mother did not." Kain says, letting the emblem hang against his chest. "My father keeps saying I should go by Kain Sand, but that's just…bringing far too much trouble into my life. My mother was princess of Dorne, or so my father tells me. She couldn't stay here, she stayed in Seagard for as long as she carried me and then left again, but she taught my father many things before she left. Reading, writing, math, history, science, and other things. I think she truly loved him, but I think she loved her freedom more than that. I have never met her, but my father say I carry her skin and her eyes." True, his eyes, those bright, almost glowing cerulean orbs are a bit exotic, as is his dark tanned skin. "But I know of Dorne"
"I thought Elia was the only princess of her generation," Anais muses, tilting her head and trying to run through the bloodlines. "Though I suppose I could be mistaken. Or she was a princess to him, maybe," she suggests, looking up with a small smile. "I think…I think if I went to Dorne, I might end up like your mother," she admits. "I might love my freedom more than I truly loved anyone else." She pauses, brows furrowing briefly. "Do you think that's wrong of a person?" she asks quietly. "If there are things they value more than love?"
"Princess, noblewoman, I know Dorne does things different from the rest of Westeros, but all I know is that my father said she was a noblewoman from Dorne and they called them princesses there. Is that right?" Kain asks, unsure. "All I know is that the things my father taught me were pretty eleborate, the books she left at our home cite wars that I had never heard of, places that have only been told of in story. If I'm a bastard of house Martell, my Lady, it won't matter to anyone here. It doesn't change where I stand in the eyes of nobles here, so why bother saying anything at all? Nothing can be confirmed unless I can track down Nehe Martell." He shrugs, then looks at her. "Nothing is more important than that, Annie. It's not wrong. At all. This world, the people in it, they can take away everything from you. Money, land, title, family, everything. They can imprison you, but they can't take away your freedom. I don't think that's wrong at all if you value that more than love. Freedom is a thing that so few of us truly lack." He manages a small smile. "Now you understand why I stan in the woods. Because there, I am free."
<FS3> Anais rolls Marksmanship: Success.
"I do understand," Anais says with a small smile, reaching for another arrow. "That's how I feel about the sea. When I'm on the water, it's like the whole world is wide open. There's nothing but air and water, and you ride with them, and you fight with them, and suddenly you're both working together and you're just…flying." She draws a deep breath, drawing her bow and pulling back the string. This time it slips from her fingers before she can really aim, and once more hits the target without really reaching the center. "Perhaps I should stop," she muses, wrinkling her nose at it. "I hate to quit on a disappointing note, though." A pause. "I hate quitting in general, actually."
The ranger goes quiet as he watches her shoot. "Don't quit, my Lady. Don't ever quit." Kain replies, his voice perhaps a bit more passionate than it should be. But this is hitting on a fiber of his being. "Don't ever give in. I'm not talking about archery, I know you'll keep doing it, you love it too much to stop now. The way you say that, it's like you're afraid of being you. You have a -right- to be happy. Every single person has a right to be happy, no matter where they fall in this world. You are a strong and willful woman and that is something to proud of, not chastised. I know it is easy to say, it is so easy to say anything you want and have no intention behind the words. If you must live the life you have and you find a way to make your own happines even while living within it, well…" He gives her another arrow. "Don't give up."
<FS3> Anais rolls Marksmanship: Good Success.
Anais takes the offered arrow, looking back with a small smile, although her gaze is a bit unfocused. It seems half her mind is on the archery now. "I never give up, Kain," she assures the hunter. This time she takes her time, breathing carefully, running through a mental checklist of each step, from her grip, to her stance, to her arms, to her draw. And when she releases with a soft breath, the arrow thunks into the target close to the center. "That's better," she approves, lowering her bow and rubbing her fingers together. "But I should probably stop for now. Thank you, Kain," she adds, smile curving. "Dance lessons tomorrow?"
"That's what I like to hear." Kain replies with nod, seeming impressed with her renewed attempt at the shot, even if she doesn't look totally with it. "You've done well in just one short lesson, but let your intial success think you should lesson your attempt. Stretch evey night and morning. Find some kind of weight to lift to strengthen your arms and we will do this again. But even when I'm not around I'd like you to try and find time to practice. With your previous training, you have covered the basics quickly. Not it is just a mattered of refining the ability to a razor sharp point." At her question of dancing, he sheepishly rubs at the back of his head. "Y-yeah, I suppose we can do that."
"I'll practice," Anais promises, though she laughs at his look when she mentions dancing, the corners of her eyes crinkling with her smile. "Tomorrow, then. We'll find a nice spot in the Terrick camp where there aren't too many people to watch. And you'll do just fine at it." She slips the bow against her shoulder once more, settling her cheek into the curve of it. "Now, shall I go and retrieve the arrows, or were you still going to shoot a bit longer yourself?"
"I plan to stay here a bit longer and get some more practice in myself." Kain replies. "If you need to get back to your own buisness, I won't keep you. But I am glad you came out here, I wasn't sure wether or not you were going to. But good. Practice. And I need to…get those clothes that Ser Justin told me to buy that he'd pay for. I'm supposed to look for the dance. Eugh." So many people. In such a confied area. He's going to hate that.
Anais can't help the giggle that escapes at his talk of clothes. Really, she can't. "I'm sure you'll manage, Kain," she assures, pausing to unstring the bow before she takes a few steps back. "I'll see you tomorrow. I don't think there's anything I really have to do, so I should be free when you get a chance."
