Welcome to Gaia! ::

River's eyes were closed, and she was breathing slowly and evenly. It almost looked like some form of meditation. And so it was - she was clearing her mind, forgetting everything around her. Pressure was something she didn't need. She let herself forget that there was an enormous crowd around her. That they were all watching with bated breath to see if she could do this. To see how well she would do this.

At last, her mind clear, she opened her eyes and looked at her target. She raised her bow and pulled the string back to her cheek. The wind blew gently upon her, brushing her hair across her face, but it was as if she didn't even notice it. Her eyes were fixed on the bulls-eye that she was supposed to hit. Even the apple was ignored by her. The apple was nothing, she told herself. To hit what you want, forget about the target. Just let it flow.

And that was what she did. A smile played about the corner of her lips as she watched the bulls-eye, a shadow flickering across it every few seconds. She gauged the distance, judged the wind - and the moment she felt as if she had her aim, a fiery arrow appeared, nocked, and she released the bowstring.

Less than a second later, it was over. Ulani's apple bounced at the impact of the second arrow, which had landed exactly perfectly in the center of the inner circle, with its shaft protruding from the exact center of the apple.

For a moment, there was dead silence as it took some time for River's feat to sink in, and then the crowd broke out into a loud cheer.

Even Celeborn looked absolutely stunned, and one had to wonder if he had expected either of them to make the shot at all.

"I've never seen anything like it in my life!" Aliya laughed, throwing one arm around Jasmine's neck and hugging her. "That was amazing!"

Jasmine squawked and tried to pry her grandmother off of her. "You shouldn't be so surprised!" she squeaked. "I knew she could do it."

Out on the field, Ulani turned to River, her eyes bright and filled with respect. "Congratulations!"

She moved to bow, as was the custom, but River tackled her around the waist and squeezed her tightly. "I just knew I could do it, Nako!" she bubbled excitedly. "I was looking and I thought I couldn't because even you didn't but then I just all of a sudden I knew I could and I did!"

Earendil nodded, one arm around Lin's side and holding her close.

"I have to say," he murmured back, "in all our travels, in all my years of training ... I don't think I've ever met anyone capable of such a shot."

He smiled down at Miyuki. "Well, that was worth watching, wasn't it?" he asked her warmly.

Out on the field, Celeborn brought the prize over to River - the black bow with the gold runes - and presented it to her, his head bowed almost reverently. River beamed at him and took the bow in her hands, and immediately it fitted itself to her, making itself perfect for her. With the bow in hand, she turned to the crowd and held it high, looking for all the world as if she had just received the best gift ever possible.

With the contest over, River sought out her parents in the crowd, and ran to show off to them what she had won.

"The best thing about her having it for the trip," Aliya smiled at Feng, "is that most people would think that because she's a child, she won't be able to use it."

Taking people unawares was the best way to travel, after all. As long as you weren't the one being taken unaware.

"For me?" Aliya repeated, surprised. She craned her neck to see where her granddaughter had run off to. "Ah, no, she's gone off to find Alyse and Timaeus. Oh, wait - now she's coming this way." She laughed as River bounded back in their direction.

Earendil shifted a bit to make room for Miyuki on his lap. "And what's this you've got?" he asked her with a warm smile. "Looks like you've been winning some prizes of your own."

Aliya just barely had time to be amused by that remark before River practically pounced into her lap.

"Nako! Nako!' she squealed. "Did you see me? Did you see me? I did it! I did it! I won! I won!"

Aliya laughed. "I saw," she assured her granddaughter, giving her a tight hug. "Congratulations! That was some pretty spectacular shooting you did!"

Earendil smiled at Miyuki. "You know, you did earn it," he told her gently. "By the end of the day, everyone will have won something. It's all right if you keep it for yourself. Maybe someday you'll meet someone down the road who you'll want to give it to."

River giggled and held up the bow. "Isn't it great?" she beamed. "And I even beat Ninako! I didn't know I could but I did!"

Aliya laughed. "You're going to have to teach me how you did that," she winked at her. "But for now, you need to be careful with your new bow, you're going to hit someone with it if you're not careful."

River blushed and lowered the bow, holding it like a staff. "Sorry, Nako."


Earendil didn't understand why she felt it was weird, but he could see that it was bothering her. He pulled her up into his lap. "Why do you say it's weird?" he asked her gently. "The way you got it? Or it just feels weird to have won it?"

River giggled. "Nako always says I'm just like you," she told Feng, a sparkle in her eyes. "But she says it's a good thing, she says it's fun when you're around."

Aliya laughed. She couldn't deny it, she had indeed said that; but it was true, so there was no reason to deny it anyways.

Earendil pursed his lips thoughtfully. "Maybe River put the winning token right on the top, so it was the nearest one to grab," he suggested to Miyuki. "And as for the tiles game, it has happened before that someone got it on the first time. I do admit it is rare, but it does happen occasionally."