She wanted to learn how to shoot. Not just any type of shooting, either. She wanted to learn how to properly use a bow. She’d gotten a glimpse of her past self using one when she and Massy and Almary had gone up to her homeworld. And she remembered the her of the dark future using one with deadly skill. She didn’t want to kill anyone but...Bailey wanted to be able to do...SOMETHING. Anything. She wanted to be stronger, to be more. She wanted to be someone Daniel could lean on [her poor Massy was just...hurt and scared lately, and it broke her heart to see]. Bailey had started looking at ways she could learn archery, her first real lead on...well, anything like what she’d been in the future. She didn’t like the dark parts, but the nicer parts were what she wanted.

She found the SCA. And something called archery practice.

The first day she went, it was sheer curiosity. Reed went with her, and the people there were happy to chatter with them, talk to them. One of the archers showed her the equipment they used and explained what each part was, and how it was important. She didn’t shoot anything that day, but she walked away with the address for a good local store that she might be able to find a bow sized and weighted for a child. It was a good start, and more than she’d expected, really.

The second week, she brought her mother. Let her mother get a feel for the people, and the group, and the safety they insisted on with the activity. Rose asked more questions than Bailey had, and even tried her hand at shooting herself. She was impressed, and satisfied with the answers she found. The group ended up with three people at practice the next week. Bailey was shy and sheepish with her new bow and arm guard, and the practice arrows the archer, Duncan, had suggested. Reed and Rose had more adult-sized bows, both weighted lower than the bows the group had. Beginners, after all. It wouldn’t make sense to start with something an expert would use.

It became a new hobby for the trio, one the Bailey found herself enjoying very much. There was something soothing about archery, even while being frustrated with the fact she couldn’t shoot well just yet. And she could see herself improve a little each week. And when she was done for the night, she could watch others. There was...just something about it that reminded her of art. It was simple, but it was as complex as some of the drawings and crafts she and her mom did. Maybe she wouldn’t ever use it as more than a fun hobby. Maybe she would. She didn’t know. But it was a nice hobby. And it made her feel stronger. More able to protect people, no matter if she was henshined or not.

And that was what mattered. That was very much what mattered.

[Word Count: 506, according to Google Docs]