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YOU HAVE MY BOW!

His grip on the string slipped, the arrow unleashed before he'd been ready, before he had aimed. Unguided, the arrow flew wide, completely missing the target and sailing into the trees beyond.

Jack, his tail twitched as the dummy drew closer. Come on Sheridan, focus!

Opponent's HP: 5/15
Damage Dealt: 0
Opponent's Distance: 36 ft
Knockback Dealt: no
Previous Posts:
post 1
post 2
post 3
post 4
post 5
post 6
post 7
post 8

((Entering class day 3))
YOU HAVE MY BOW!

On Alex's third day, the rise up from the jungle floor in the elevator to the platform high above the ground wasn't even nearly as bad as it used to be. He was doing what he had been taught, only with his own little twist, zoning out so that it was like he wasn't even there at all. It made the ascent so much more bearable if he pretended it wasn't even happening, that every lurch and jerk through the air, and every creak of the floorboards were from something that was happening far far away and could not harm him.

When the elevator reached the top and he was allowed to exit, it was with a stoic calm unlike he had felt the first day he had arrived at the class. His pale gaze swept the room, noting that the teacher was inspecting the rack of weapons, and that gave Alex cause to believe that today they might actually be learning to use those weapons. The thought actually thrilled him a little bit.

Finally, a chance to learn how to utilize a weapon! An actual, real weapon, and not just some stick that he plucked up from the ground or a vine from some tree. He listened to her intently, face lighting up at the mention of the strengths and weakness's of each basic weapon that she explained. He was initially unsure of which he might prefer, mentally ticking off the pro's and con's of each one in his mind. Of course, he probably was not fast enough for a dagger to be very effective, even with the class he had taken back at Amityville to help improve his speed. The sword was a definite possibility, though he feared that he might be too clumsy for such a large and cumbersome weapon, and would not be surprised if he might accidentally hurt himself more then his opponent should he choose to give it a try. Though still, he was strong, and did not give in to fatigue, so he did give it points for that at least.

And then the bow was brought forward, and Alex instantly knew which of the three weapons he favored the most. Perhaps it was the fondness that the teacher obviously held for the weapon influencing Alexander to his choice. He might not always have a calm mind, but she had taught him how he could. His hands could be steady, if he required them to. He could use it without ever getting hurt himself, and if the enemy did get close, well..

That's why Yin had taught him how to fight with his fists and feet.

So it was without pause that Alex moved himself forward, shuffling behind the group of students who were quickly clustered around the weapons racks, awaiting his turn to take the tool of his choice and move to the area indicated. The bow itself felt smooth in his hands, wooden and simple. He picked up a quiver of arrows as well, making his way to where he needed to be to begin.

And then the battle begun.

Alex was unsure of himself to start with, though he had studied how the horsewoman had wielded her bow, how she had held it, how the arrow fit on the string, how far back she had pulled before releasing. Watching and doing, however, were two different things entirely, and Alex found this weapon to be quite foreign in his hands. He didn't really have time to waste in figuring it out as his opponent began to move towards him. He quickly reached down, plucking an arrow from the quiver, then set it in the bow as he had seen the teacher do. Holding it in place with two fingers, he drew the string back, and tried to aim. His arm shook a little with the tension of holding the string back for so long, and as he let loose, the arrow did not fly where he had intended. Instead, it collided with the floor, bouncing and skittering and twirling in the air until it struck at the mannequin with the wrong end.

On the plus side, it knocked the mannequin back a few paces, but it was not the most promising of starts.

Opponent's HP: 15/15
Damage Dealt: 0
Opponent's Distance: 60 ft
Knockback Dealt: Yes
Previous Posts: Post One,

YOU HAVE MY BOW!
Calm down, center yourself, no need to panic. It's far enough away that you have plenty of time to do this.

He repeated these words in his head like a mantra, even as his gaze flickered towards the arrows still in their quiver and reached down to pull one out from the middle. He fumbled it in his hand a bit, which lost him some time and allowed the mannequin to move forward. He was still carefully placing the arrow against the string, and glancing up every half a second to see where the mannequin was. Obviously he had not quite found that calm center quite yet, so was still struggling when he brought the bow up, drew the string back, and released.

As the arrow shot forward, the string thwacked against Alexanders leather wrist band, indicating that he had done a poor job on keeping everything aligned as he should have. He had a moment of feeling gratuity towards that one small but thick strip of leather, as it probably saved him from receiving a nasty welt.

The arrow itself did somewhat better then his first, but not by much, as it arced through the air and dropped just a little too short, burying itself in the mannequins left foot.

And his opponent yet marched on.

Opponent's HP: 14/15
Damage Dealt: 1
Opponent's Distance: 54
Knockback Dealt: no
Previous Posts: Post One, Post Two

YOU HAVE MY BOW!
He would not be discouraged by these first two attempts. It was obviously just a learning curve, one that he had yet to get the hang of. He still had plenty of time, and plenty of space to get it right, though he was beginning to wonder if he might have had an easier time of things had he chosen to use the sword instead.

Distracting thoughts, not needed right now. He needed to clear his mind, to reach that point of zen that he had on his first day in this classroom. He felt his eyes wandering towards Yin, who appeared to be doing a magnificent job on his own mannequin, his arrows continuously finding their target.

Again, a distraction, even if it was a more pleasant one to be watching. With a small smile, he reached down for another arrow, this time pulling it out smoothly, getting the hang of nocking the arrow to the bow and rising it up beside his face to aim, draw back, aim again, and release.

He still wasn't quite there, but he was getting much closer now, as this arrow punctured through the leather around the mannequins right thigh, and embedded itself therein. This caused the mannequin to stumble slightly, it's leg jerking beneath it, but it continued on.

Alex took in a deep breath that he didn't need, and exhaled it out with a hiss through his teeth. This wouldn't do. He needed to get better, he needed to prove that he could do this, and he needed to show these horsemen what he was truly worth.

Opponent's HP: 11/15
Damage Dealt: 3
Opponent's Distance: 48
Knockback Dealt: no
Previous Posts: Post One, Post Two, Post Three

YOU HAVE MY BOW!
No need for thinking now, just doing. Doing what had to be done, doing it for himself, doing it for his friends, his family. Doing it to ensure he could keep them all safe, protect them all, and never allow them to come to any harm.

He reached down, his fingers grasping the shaft of the arrow just below the feathers at it's end. He drew it out cleanly and nocked it to the bow, that small, serene smile combined with the determination in his eyes never leaving his face. His mind felt cool and clean, it felt ready to do whatever needed to be done, it felt completely focused.

Without any hesitation at all, he drew back the string again. He had this, this was easy now. He had to protect his friends, protect everyone, by any means necessary. Releasing the string, he let loose the arrow and watched it as it swiftly cut through the air in a near flawless path towards the opponent that advanced upon him, striking it back before it could even get a chance to move forward.

That dummy had a face now, it wasn't just some lifeless, featureless form brought to life. It was a hunter, a blonde haired evil witch who had shoved Alex into a cylinder and turned on the machine that had forced his body into weapon form, making him forget everything, making him forget he had a family, making him forget he had Yin. He felt no anger, no rage, only confidence as he watched the arrow that he had unleashed bury itself into the neck of that woman, punching through the leather so that the arrow tip emerged from the other side. If this had been real, she would have been dying now, with blood spilling from her mouth as she writhed upon the floor.

If only.

Opponent's HP: 1/15
Damage Dealt: 5
Opponent's Distance: 48
Knockback Dealt: No, but using speed boost for this round, so yes?
Previous Posts: Post One, Post Two, Post Three, Post Four, Post Five

YOU HAVE MY BOW!
Those last two shots at his mannequin left Alex's arms feeling somewhat numb and tingly from the strain it took to use muscles repeatedly that he previously had no use for. He had excellent upper body strength, though to look at him, with his scrawny limbs and hallowed features, one would never guess it. So he took a quick break, a breather if you will, to let his arms rest, to let the ache between his shoulder blades subside. The mannequin was getting ever closer, but he was confident that he could take it down before it got anywhere near him. It was barely shuffling along anyways, it's pace jagged and broken, much like a zombies, really.

He hung his bow on one arm and reached over to massage his right shoulder, because that was the arm that was doing the drawing back on the string and was thus the one that required his attention. As he did so, his eyes wandered towards Yin, to see what progress the other boil was making. He was pleasantly surprised to see that the other boil had actually finished with his mannequin, looking over just in time to see it crumple into a heap on the floor. His lips quirked up into a bigger smile, and he turned back to his own target, ready to do this once. more.

Unfortunately, his break and his distraction seemed to have lost him his focus, as he reached down for another arrow, and found his hands clumsy and searching. He felt like he had wasted enough time, however, and so without fully examining his arrow for any defects once he had it in hand, he nocked it to the bow, unaware that the fletching was not as balanced as it should be. He just took aim, drew back, and released, trying to do it in a hurry to make up for lost time.

The arrow went wide, missing his target completely and clattering to the floor beyond. That clatter was the sound of failure, the sound of a mistake that should not have been made.

He would not make it again.


Opponent's HP: 1/15
Damage Dealt: 0
Opponent's Distance: 42
Knockback Dealt: no
Previous Posts: Post One, Post Two, Post Three, Post Four, Post Five, Post Six

SWEET VICTORY!



YOU HAVE MY BOW!
Alexander cursed under his breath, a hiss that would have been barely audible to anybody except himself. He had been doing so well, slowly progressing, only to make a foolish mistake. He needed to be more careful, to be more focused then this. How was he going to protect anyone if he continued to act as stupid as the stereotype that was given to his kind? He had to prove himself better then that, and much much smarter.

And so, he took a moment to remember why he was here, why he was doing this and who he was doing it for. It was hard not to look over towards Yin, who was now even as he contemplating these things hanging up the bow he had used, since he was one of the main reasons Alex had even agreed to come to this place. Once more, he shut his eyes, once more, he centered himself, brought himself back to that focus that he needed, and gave himself the drive he required to finish this, right here and now.

When his eyes snapped back open, it was clear that something had changed. His eyes, such a pale and washed out gray they were nearly white, locked on his target. Focused, driven, determined. He reached down to draw one last arrow from the bushel at his feet, gripping it loosely in the palm of his hand, his eyes flickering to it but briefly, only to see that this arrow was indeed perfectly made, crafted by some fine, skilled horsemen and ready to be used for it's intended purpose. He moved that arrow up, noching it against the string, raising his arms in the air, his left hand gripping the bow in the appropriate place, the two main fingers of his right hand holding the nock in place as he drew the string backwards and taut one last time.

His gaze sighted along the shaft of the arrow, he took his time, made sure everything felt right, made sure everything was aligned where he wanted it to be. No longer did he see the face of the blonde hunter who had weaponized him staggering towards him. Now the mannequin took on many different forms in his minds eye, each one a dangerous enemy who needed to be disposed of before they could do harm to those that Alex held most dear. His teeth were gritted tight with the strain of holding this position, but his arms and hands held steady as he finally let loose the string and let fly the arrow. The string itself brushed up against his cheek, but he barely noticed. He was too focused on that arrow, on it's smooth and whistling glide through the suddenly still air. It was like everything in the room had gone completely silent. No longer could he hear the twang of loosed strings, the grunts of students as they fought against animated dummies with sword and dagger. No longer could her hear the creak of floorboards beneath students feet or even the rustling of leaves out side the open windows.

Everything had gone still, everything had gone silent, except for that one arrow, as it flew in a graceful arc, only to be brought to a halt by rough leather and stitching given life as it penetrated deep into the area just below where a humans ribs may have been, slightly off center but a good blow nonetheless. That moment had seemed to drag on for ever. It had lasted an instant and yet it had lasted a lifetime.

Sound returned, feeling returned, as the dummy collapsed to the wooden floor, lifeless once more. Then and only then Alex lowered his arms, slowly, letting his right arm drop back down to his side as his left lowered, bow still held tightly in his grip. His expression never changed in this time, though a grim sense of satisfaction may have glimmered in his eyes as he backed away from his post, turning to take his bow back to the weapon rack, grabbing the quiver of arrows from the floor as he went.

He placed the bow gently back where he had gotten it from, silently nodding towards the teacher when he caught her eye. He had done it. He had defeated his opponent and now it was time for him to leave. Turning towards the elevator, the first thing he saw was Yin, standing, waiting for him. He gave the boil a grateful look as he shuffled towards him, ready to leave and find other things to fill their day together.

The stiffness in his back, his shoulders, and his arms would be a reminder of the days lessons. He had done himself proud, but there was still much he needed to learn, if his earlier mishaps were any indication. But he knew better now, and he was feeling more ready by the second for whatever might be thrown his way next.

Opponent's HP: -3/15
Damage Dealt: 4
Opponent's Distance: 42
Knockback Dealt: yes
Previous Posts: Post One, Post Two, Post Three, Post Four, Post Five, Post Six, This Post

YOU HAVE MY BOW!

As Mitzi looked over the weapons, she frowned. None of them really appealed to her. The sword was most like her spear, which made it perhaps the "most suited to her"? But really the weapon would still be rather different than what she was accustomed to, so she didn't feel it was an entirely appropriate fit. The dagger was certainly not her style, as her Reaper weapon could reasonably handle both close and mid-range combat, and didn't allow the sort of agility that Cybele had said was important for fighting with such a short blade. Of the three, the bow seemed most useful in terms of learning something new. Her spear could theoretically do long distance, but it was one shot, at least until it hit. Furthermore, if there was some way for FEAR to be blocked or consumed, she might not be able to summon it back. So learning to utilize a distance weapon seemed most useful. Finally settling on the bow, she stepped forward to grab one off the rack, and then headed to the left-hand side of the platform.

Once there, she tried to mimic the horsewoman's stance, but she found the bow very difficult to handle. She'd never used one before, and didn't really know what she was doing. As the mannequin started lumbering forward, she tried to draw it back, but accidentally released the arrow before she had even properly drawn the bow. The arrow spun off to the side, never coming even close to the mannequin.

Opponent's HP: 15
Damage Dealt: 0
Opponent's Distance: 54
Knockback Dealt: No
Previous Posts: N/A