Wolf Warrior

Six

Staying in the shady, shrubby part of the forest, Fanfare began to train me. Firstly she said to me,
"Right, Human. To start doing Archery, stand up straight and face me." She stood to the left of me so I stood in that direction. "By the way, I've seen bears trying to arch, so based on what not to do and seeing actual archers in your town, I know what to teach you. Anyway, are you left or right pawed?" Fanfare continued.
"Right-handed." I answered.
"Whatever." Fanfare rolled her hazel-coloured eyes. "Hold out your left arm and look along it." She instructed.
I obeyed her and she told me,
"Good. In your left arm you'll hold the bow and the right arm draws back the string. It is important to have a good position when arching or you'll use muscles you dinnae want to use and likely hurt yourself." Fanfare got me my bow and an arrow and I got into position, pulling back the string.
"No! You put the arrow in wrongly." Fanfare barked, telling me how to put the arrow in correctly so it clipped onto the string and balanced on my hand. I then tried again, only for Fanfare to bark,
"Stop! Your position is wrong. You must remain straight or the arrow will miss the target and you'll strain a muscle."
I tried again and turned round, expecting Fanfare to say I'd done yet another thing wrong. But she didn't! Fanfare looked at me and nodded. "You're not doing anything wrong." She commented.
So, in perfect position, I aimed at the target tree and let go of the bow string. The string was hard to pull back but I didn't wobble! The arrow sailed through the air so fast I would've missed it if I blinked. The arrow hit the 3rd ring with a dull thump. I launched 3 more arrows but they didn't hit any closer rings on the target tree. Fanfare barked,
"You see, human, that a good position pays. It means your arrows land more acurately, without injuring yourself."
Next, Fanfare informed me, as I approached the target tree to remove my arrows,
"Don't worry about aiming just now. Get the position perfect, then start aiming properly. Always look behind you when removing each arrow, don't want to poke someones eye out do you?"
Throughout the rest of my training session, I continued to shoot and retrieve my arrows. Occasionally, I was corrected by Fanfare but despite her being a fiery character, she was firm but fair. Most of my arrows didn't land closer than the 3rd ring but it didn't matter right now. At least my arrows had actually landed on the target! By the time I'd pulled out my 10th arrow from the target for the last time, it was twilight.
"You're not bad for a beginner, human." Fanfare told me, almost wagging her bushy tail. "The bears I tried to train never became archer warriors - they were all terrible. But from the looks of things, you might become the first one." She said to me happily, eyes bright. "But now it's dinner - don't miss it! She told me, as we ran back to camp.