Welcome to Gaia! ::

Earendil blinked down at Lin, somewhat surprised by her comment. "Oh?" he asked her curiously. "Really?"

He didn't know why he was surprised ... perhaps because he hadn't seen Lin use a bow, or express interest in one before.

Earendil chuckled softly. "It's true, I had forgotten that you even had one. I'm afraid I must not have been paying much attention when we were packing and repacking our bags, either."

He held his arm out to her, grinning at her, his eyes twinkling. "Well then, my dear, let's go look at the arrowheads. I'm curious now to see if they're like the ones we have in the Four Lands."

Still grinning, Earendil led Lin over to the wall with the buckets of arrowheads and they began to peruse them casually.

There were as many types of arrowheads as there were buckets. Some were long, others short; some were two-edged, others had three or four edges. Most were solid, but there were a few that had different spring designs on the blades. There were even a few that were curved, like a crescent moon, and others still had hooks or barbs.

Earendil chuckled softly. "Every single one of them," he grinned at her. "Some are specifically for practicing, others for certain animals, others for people. Each one makes the arrow fly differently, or causes different damage to whatever it hits."

"Spoken like a true archer," came a soft female voice from the doorway in the back of the shop. It was a young woman who had spoken, a girl who looked as though she were just blossoming into womanhood. Her long hair was just a shade lighter than the man who was helping Andarien, and pulled back in a braid. Green eyes sparkled brightly, and she was grinning - almost laughing - as she approached the two. She was dressed in forest greens, and had, equipped, a sectioned quiver made of leather, an arm guard on her left arm, and a well-worn leather glove on her right hand.

Earendil chuckled softly at her. "Well, perhaps not so true as you may think," he replied as she joined them. "It was part of my education, is all."

"Pleased to meet you," the girl beamed, shaking hands with both of them - and not just a formal handshake, but a strong, hearty handshake. "I'm Syradelle, but please, call me Sy."

She glanced over her shoulder at the man who was still helping Andarien. "I bet my brother didn't introduce himself," she grinned. "He never does. That's Tanil. He takes care of sales, but sometimes he's a bit ... overenthusiastic."

Earendil chuckled softly. "A family affair, then?" he asked curiously.

Sy turned back to them and grinned. "Yeah, me and my five brothers."

Sy shifted her weight to one foot and folded her arms comfortably. "Arun is the oldest, he's the real bowyer," she explained. "I don't know anyone who makes better bows than he does. Tanil here takes care of the shop himself and the customers, or at least the sales part of it. Erlan takes care of the arrows, specifically the shafts and fletching, and Shin works at the forge, making the arrowheads."

She paused for a moment, as if thinking over what she'd said, and then she added, "And Ander helps Arun with the bows, though he usually does the bowstrings and the windings. He also does the leather pieces - arm guards, quivers, gloves and the like - but those don't take as long so he does spend most of his time with the strings."

"Your brothers must be very skilled," Earendil smiled, though he noted that she hadn't said what part she played in the running of the shop.

"Me?" Sy seemed momentarily surprised by Lin's question, but very quickly she realized exactly what Lin was talking about. "Oh, of course!" she laughed. "Yes, me."

She giggled softly. "I take care of my brothers. While they work, I play - or so I like to call it. I get to go out and do the hunting, when we need it, and I take care of the cleaning and cooking and washing and all the stuff that girls are supposed to do. Takes a bit of work, taking care of them all, but I have to say there's nothing else I'd rather do."

She paused thoughtfully, then added, her eyes sparkling brightly, "Unless it's become a professional huntress."