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[queenofmay]

Marian has been stuck here weeks now. Longer than normal. She can feel it. Has counted it. The Door is keeping her longer than normal. With her father still jailed the otherside. 'Restless' does not begin to cover it.






One Lady, at the archery range,

Firing off arrows about as fast as she can reach for them.

Comments

[the_less_perfect]

"Impressive speed," Leo remarks as he passes.

He had to learn how to use a bow as a child. He was always very accurate, but never very fast.

[queenofmay]

She happens to be both, for rather the same reason.

But she stops, amid pulling a new arrow out. "Thanks."
Knocking it in her hands, torn between simply continuing.

[the_less_perfect]

"Most people go to the pells or the heavy bag to work out frustration, though," Leo points out. Archery had always occurred to him as too precise and thoughtful to really be much help in venting. "If I'm - judging, er, the mood right here."

[queenofmay]

There's something in the words. Her head tilts, eyes more blue than grey, sharper today than most. Because he isn't wrong. And it's a little flippant, on whether he's assumed she can't, or doesn't. "Is that an offer?"

[the_less_perfect]

Leo tilts his head, raising an eyebrow.

"It wasn't. I mean, er, it could be, I'm not averse to the idea, though."

[queenofmay]

The double stumble in his words, makes her relax slightly. Her shoulders loosening. Just barely enough to drop. Considering him. "It really might not be a wise day for that."

This is the kind of day she'd be grateful to take on Guy and all his arrogance. Along with a handful of the guards.

[the_less_perfect]

"Another time, then," Leo says, ducking his head a little. "What's wrong?"

[queenofmay]

Everything that can be? Her home? Her father? Robin?
Someone who was once something like a closest friend?


"It's been a very long few weeks," She decided.

[the_less_perfect]

"That seems to be going around," Leo remarks mildly.

[redefinevictory]

Kait waits until Marian's quiver is empty before saying anything. She has no desire to dodge arrows from a trigger-reaction, and it's interesting watching her, too.

"Nice form," she calls out at last before strolling over. Physically, she's fully recovered from her ordeal in the lake; now with her muscle back, she's more lean than delicate (except for her face). She's wearing jeans, knee-high boots, a fitted jacket over a bodice and blouse, but only the jeans are modern earth.

With her waist-long hair braided and neat, she's a far-cry from the fragile bag of bones that Marian pulled out of the lake nearly a month ago.

[queenofmay]

It's smart. Smarter than Robin would be. Waiting to have the bow and arrow swung at him. Dear Lord. But she misses him. The flicker of his eyes in her thoughts. So many days. Too many days.


Marian, still tense, did at least have her countenance break some on seeing the woman's face. It's a little hard to hold with being interrupted by someone you saved. The bow slipped a little with her loosened grip. "Kait. You look better."

[redefinevictory]

Kait grins at that.

"It wouldn't be hard. I'm...aware of how bad I can look after one of my stunts."

[queenofmay]

Stunts. That is an interesting way to put it. After looking like a floating piles of bones, barely held together by skin. She'd almost expected it to be a dead person floating in the water.

Marian nodded, though. At least as easily as she could right now. "How are you doing, now?"

[redefinevictory]

How are you doing?







"Probably about as well as can be expected, all things considered," Kait says, in the same deliberately light tone that she'd said 'one of my stunts'. "How fare you?"

[queenofmay]

It's telling enough to those who listen. She may not know the girl, but she can tell when something is being avoided. She'd left the topic of why for the whole of the first time. It had to be hard enough on the girl. Never going back.


Marian considered her, without letting her head tilt. Even if she was tempted to move, grace and far too much habit, and the stretch of burning need in her, left her poised and still.

But she chose an honest answer, with a raise of her brows. Unimpressed at the day, as her blue-grey eyes turned back toward the target. "Restless."

[redefinevictory]

Kait smiles quickly, wryly.

"I thought I sensed a familiar mood."

[queenofmay]

Marian's mouth flickered toward a smile. More toward, than actually there, but maybe that was enough.

"Too much to be inside today," Is almost the smallest give. To be inside anywhere, would be a room with a door, and it would only serve to remind her that her own Door is still missing.

[redefinevictory]

It's enough of a smile.

"I know that feeling, too," she says. "But I am not sure if practicing would help, or make it worse. For me, I mean."

[thenewblack]

Artemis is watching closely.

Mostly because she promised to teach a kid here how to use a bow and it's been long enough she's forgotten how she learned and just does it now.

[queenofmay]

Marian does it as though it's fluid. There's no break in the graceful circuit of her her hand going back, and the release seconds later. The arrows are almost part of her, and the bow doesn't shiver except on release. She does it like she's been doing it all of her life.



She doesn't have a gift. It's not like Robin.



But decades of anything will still make you really good.

[thenewblack]

Artemis has no practice decades long at anything. Breathing if you round up maybe.

There is something to be said for high intensity work though.

At a pause when it's time to clear out the target: "Where'd you get the arrows?"

[queenofmay]

Marian looked toward the girl, who'd been watching, but not interrupting. "They keep quivers full of them, either out here or in the stocks. Depending on the impending weather."

Rain soaked arrows were not always good. At least not for the wooden ones.

[thenewblack]

"Handy. I'm going to be teaching and then I realized I've been doing this so long I don't even think about it any more. It all just sort of... flows."

[queenofmay]

"There used to be a number of people who taught here." She'd taught young Ingress certain things with weapons, too. Though more about intrigue, and courts. The shadows and the guarding.

[thenewblack]

"It's a trade. Archery for sword work," says Artemis as she shrugs, "I wasn't the close in fighter in the family."