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 Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 1:26 pm
It had been a long time since Cheveyo had made much of an attempt to interact with the people of his tribe. He loved his children, but he found himself with an unbearable craving for adult company. Living in considerable solitude, spending his days cooking, cleaning, and playing games...he needed mature interaction. And so, he found himself wandering on the outskirts of the cervitaur town, head held up to mask his insecurity over being there after such a long time away. He got the occasional look from other cervitaurs, but other than that, not much. He moved further into town, eyes scanning the crowd. Now that he was here...what was he supposed to do? He hadn't thought that far ahead. And there were so many bodies, he was getting just a little uncomfortable.
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Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 1:40 pm
[color=#dc859d]RP color template.[/color] Mannah's full name was Tamannah Sweetheather, but she'd been known to a small circle of Cervitaur friends as "Mannah" ever since she was a yearling. Because of her coloration, she could not do much hunting of actual game. Her archery was pristine and precise, but all she'd been able to hunt was the occasional pheasant or guinea fowl. She spent the most of her days teaching the Cervitaurs of natural coloration the ways of the bow. She was never alone, and yet...
She was feathering bow shafts that day idly, sitting with a pile of bird's feathers and newly shaven bow shafts. Mannah could do this in her sleep and still fletch them correctly. The day was warm, so she took the shelter of shade below a fruiting tree. The birds constantly reminded her of their freedom of flight and how they need only glide away for adventure.
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Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 1:48 pm
He started to get frustrated, mostly with himself. This was stupid, how could he think that a grown, aging man could just walk into town and expect to make aquaintances? These people didn't know him, and that was his fault. But it hadn't been a problem while Marcella was around. He sighed in an irritated way, turning and making his way back to the edge of town, weaving through the crowd, until he was free from it. He almost missed Mannah as he passed her, but he stopped and did a double take, pivoting to watch her for a moment. He frowned, then hesitated, before closing the distance, hand playing idly with his own bow. Well...the one thing he had somewhat in common with other people was his archery...it was a good start. He cleared his throat awkwardly, opening his mouth to say something, though nothing came out.
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Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 1:54 pm
Mannah's ear flicked and she turned her head to see Chevyo. She looked at him, at his bow, then at his face.
"Did you need lessons?" she asked first. She didn't intend to insult, it was her job to teach.
Mannah hadn't recognized him, she had known of or at least seen a fair number of Cervitaurs in her lifetime and she couldn't place him. Though, it was probably likely that she would have heard of Marcella.
"I've got some targets freshly stuffed with straw, if you'd like practice," she offered.
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Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 2:02 pm
He couldn't help it, he got an amused grin on his face, "Oh, no. No, thank you. I've had plenty of practice." He gestured to what she was doing with his free hand, "I was just admiring what you were doing. Its impressive." He unhooked his bow from his shoulder, resting the end on the ground, and holding it in place, "I'm sorry if I'm interrupting you...My name's Cheveyo," he said, bending slightly to offer his hand to her. Was he rusty with greetings, or what? As he bent down, he got a proper look at her, looking at her face, but almost immediately looking at some point over her shoulder. That was proof enough that he didn't socialize.
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Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 2:09 pm
He acted awkward like a student, avoiding eye contact and totally denying he needed lessons. He understood that coming from the young bucks and moreso for an older gentleman like himself. Mannah offered him a knowing smile and took his hand to stand.
"I'm a fletcher by trade, sir," she replied. "My name is Mannah Sweetheather, I often make my way to Haventree and sell the arrows and sinews to other races. But lately I've been teaching the youngest of our people how to properly string a bow before they do themselves an injury."
That much was true, she'd had to learn on the fly how to treat for splinters and slashes to the face from a fast moving bow string or the bow itself. It was only because of this that she learned to be good at any kind of first aid.
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Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 2:16 pm
Cheveyo nodded slightly, "I wish there'd been someone to teach me that when I was young," he said, giving half a smile, "Maybe I should bring my kids here, have them learn properly." He looked at little awkward after he mentioned his two little ones. It seemed like too much information to be giving. But he shook it off, and kept going, "But its nice to meet you, Miss Sweetheather. I haven't run into a lot of women who use a bow." A sword or a knife, yes, but not a bow. He smiled again, properly this time, "You must be pretty good with it."
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Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 2:25 pm
Mannah nodded, perhaps he was looking for someone to teach his children. That was not uncommon, parents often came to her seeking to enroll their children in lessons.
"Of course, it's what I do, afterall," Mannah smiled. "A great many more males than females are using bows these days, though I'm not certain where that trend may have started. Perhaps I wasn't watching a generation or so."
She picked up her satchel of feathers and bow shafts and looked at him. Mannah nodded for him to follow as she turned. She led the way to a little clearing that was reserved for target practice. It was empty this time of day as most Cervitaurs were at home preparing their daily meals.
"This is where you'll find me most days, I am groundskeeper of his archer's range," she said. "We can move targets as many paces forward or back as we please without being afraid of accidentally hitting anyone. I even have a nice array of training bows for the smaller ones."
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Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 2:30 pm
He followed her, and once they reached the clearing, looked about with an impressed look on his face. Maybe it really wouldn't be a bad idea to bring the kids here...It could do them a lot of good. Help them burn off that energy. And give him an excuse to come into town. He looked from the targets, to Mannah, an unreadable look on his face. He was silent for a moment, then took a few steps towards the targets, "I had no idea this was here. Is it fairly new?" Though...it could've been put in ten years ago, and he wouldn't have known about it. He wanted to fire off a few arrows, but figured it'd be better if he didn't.
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Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 2:42 pm
Mannah laughed, "Oh, about five years or so. But it's far enough away and hidden away in trees for a reason. It's hard aiming when you've got too many distractions, though we do have tournaments from time to time here. You're more than welcome to come here on your own or with your children whenever you like, the range is always open. Some even come out in the rain for the challenge."
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Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 2:46 pm
Cheveyo grinned, seeming pleased to hear that. "I'll probably be hanging around here every now and then...its always nice to be able to shoot without trying to kill dinner, you know?" He turned towards her again, "Are...you here often?" everything he said to her sounded awkward and not appropriate, to his ears. But he ignored it, maintaining his self-assured pose and blank face.
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Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 2:51 pm
Mannah drew her own bow and took aim at a random target. "Oh, every day if I can help it," she said idly, letting a newly made arrow fly to test it out.
It flew well, hitting the target with barely a sound. She looked at it with satisfaction, not so much because she hit the target but moreso because it worked the first time it was tested.
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Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 3:16 pm
"Very nice," he said quietly, mostly to himself. He nodded a little, idly, then looked at her, "You're good." He smiled lightly, "Even better than me, I think. Not to sound vain or anything." He'd had a lot of practice, there was no use in him denying that he was good. But she was a little better, and that impressed him immensely. Being the proud cervitaur he was, being better than him was quite something.
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Posted: Fri May 22, 2009 11:08 am
"If you can aim and hit what you intended to, that's all anyone can hope for," Mannah laughed. "You won't believe how many youngsters or beginners get so easily discouraged when they don't hit the bull's eye within their first attempts."
She looked him over more thoroughly. "I've not seen you here before, had you been gone and returned or is this your first time out here?"
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Posted: Sat May 23, 2009 10:02 am
He was silent for a moment, seeming to think about how he was going to answer her. "I lived here when I was young. Right up until I was nearly an adult. I left the island, then when I came back, I just didn't feel comfortable among so many people."
Again, he felt like that was way too much information to be offering, but it sort of just tumbled out of his mouth, "So I built a home away from everybody else. Today is the first day in a long, long time that I've even come here." He stopped, frowning for a moment, "About twenty...maybe thirty years, I'd say." He laughed weakly, shaking his head, "A very long time."
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