The Guard

The Wolf's Lair

Present Day,

Hey,
I'm Archer; I have short brown hair and brown eyes. I'm of average height, I guess. I am a straight-A student and have won a few archery competitions (ironic, I know). My dad Luke and I have travelled a lot for competitions. He's a champ in his age group, so I guess you can see how I got into it. Dad home-schools me, which makes travelling for comps and training easier when I have such a flexible schedule. We live on Dad's property, that's been within his family for generations. He also built a course for us to use when training; due to all this, I don't have the best people skills, as I usually stay out here and, quite frankly, I prefer to talk to animals than deal with the drama in the city.

To pass the boredom on the road, I sit in the back of our caravan and write music; it's my little escape. It's my way of putting what I'm feeling or thinking on paper instead of having those awkward conversations with Dad. I busk here and there with my trusty acoustic guitar to earn a little bit of money. Dad knows about it but makes sure I'm always focused on being prepared for my next competition. I always said if I weren't a competitive archer, I'd be a professional musician, maybe even a singer racing up the charts, I'd be about to start university, and of course, I'd be a music major. But that's just a fantasy.

When we're home, my family likes to visit as often as possible, seeing as we're hardly around. My aunty B and uncle Dean live in a small cottage down on the farm with dad and me, so we see each other regularly when we're home.

"Is that my little A I see?!" Aunty B and I have always had a great relationship. She's my mum's sister. We got even closer once my mum passed away from cancer. It was tough on us all, but she was always there for me through it all, and for that, I've always been grateful. After mums passing that's when Aunty B and Uncle Dean decided to stay on the farm, Uncle Dean runs and cares for all the livestock on the property with dad when he's here. Dad never had much interest in our "real farm life" here. He just liked the idea of being able to set up his course for him to train, whereas Dean is this big dude (who is just one big teddy bear) that loves to get outside and get dirty, I guess. However, Aunty B loves to also get out on the farm but spends most of her time doing some form of art, whether painting, drawing, making collages, or whatever inspires her that day.

When I'm not training, and she isn't making something, we like to sit down and make some music together; aunty B used to be in a band when she was a teenager and even did shows which I think is pretty sick, so I, of course, want lessons or advice from a pro themselves. That's where we find ourselves right now. I just got back two days ago with dad from another comp, Dad placed first, and I made it third this time. If I'm being honest, my heart isn't in it as much anymore, but if it's making dad happy, I'll keep going, I guess. 

"So! I finished that last song we were stuck on. All it needs is a title now," Aunty B said with a big smile. I went and took a seat on my stool with my guitar strapped on my back. I pulled it around, so it was resting on my leg "let's hear it then, Aunty B" after she had finished the song, I just sat there with the biggest smile "that's so good! and that final verse just ties it all up so well" Aunty B just smiled in response. "there's an open mic session at the clubhouse later in town. Maybe after we practise, we could finally perform it?" she suggested lightly. I looked down at my guitar hesitantly. "B, you know I'd love to, but I've got to get back to training in an hour, and who knows how long dad will make me stay out on the course. He's noticed I've been slipping and wants to iron out all the faults as soon as he can," I sighed.

"you need to talk to him, Archer; you won't be able to put your whole heart into something you're not passionate about anymore," Aunty B said softly. I took a deep breath "yeah, I know," I nodded. If I'm being completely honest, I lost all love for the sport a while back, I'm good, and I don't miss easily, but I've been slipping and deliberately missing in hopes dad will notice that I'm not all in. But dad being dad he thinks it's from lack of training, even though we train every day, nearly all day.