Taking Back

Archery & Knives

The outdoor training field is three times the size of the indoor training field in the castle. Alisha remembered using the small one as matches and personal training between her and her dad.

The area had targets far and wide on the left side, while the right side had imprints of the soldiers' footsteps from training. Alisha watched the soldiers train. A few of the soldiers finished gazing at her presence and waved. She smiled and waved back. She always felt welcomed on the field, and the other soldiers never underestimated her skills. She had stopped by the kitchen before stopping by the armory. The room was big and filled with weapons, varying from swords, maces, shields, and bows with quivers. In the center of the room stood two glass cases. One glass case stood empty, while the other contained a black sword. The dragon of death, Vivian, also gave her kingdom his sword. He explained that he never wanted it for evil. He would hate for anyone to use it. No one touched the sword since Vivian brought it to the first king. It stayed clean throughout the generations without a single stain of rust.

The grass tickled her legs as she walked. She looked ahead toward the targets, finding most of them occupied by soldiers. Alisha looked back toward the castle, wondering what was taking Eddie so long. She shrugged, thinking it would be best to train by herself for a bit before they arrived.

Alisha picked a secluded spot away from the rest of the soldiers practicing. She had picked up her archery equipment and some throwing knives. Alisha tossed the knives aside and pulled her bow from her body, leaving her quiver on her shoulder. Alisha pulled a single arrow from the set and pulled it back with the string.

She stopped herself and positioned herself correctly. Alisha pulled it back toward the target and released it.

The arrow hit the yellow selection.

Not bad, but I know I can do better.

Alisha pulled out another arrow and aimed at the target before releasing again. It hit close to the center. It wasn't a perfect bull's eye. She heard a loud sound from behind her of someone bickering. She turned around to see Eddie and his friends in the distance, Shoutmon being the one yelling about, which made sense. She called out to them, waving her arms, signaling to them. They saw her and began walking in her direction. As they walked closer, Eddie noticed her training attire.

"Wow," Eddie spoke in awe as Shoutmon and Rilys walked past him to the weapons.

"I was wondering when you guys were going to show up," she called out to them.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Shoutmon replied. "It took a lot longer to find Rilys than I thought. The damn ape was hiding out in the stalls."

"Hehe, I was one with the animals," Rilys cheered childishly.

"That's quite alright, Rilys. I'm sure Steffan didn't mind your company," smiled Alisha.

"Oh yes, it was quite nice. I got to–" Rilys started but got cut off by Shoutmon.

"Yeah, yeah, animals are fun and all. Now can we just get to the training?" Shoutmon began his stretching as he watched everyone else standing around, talking. "Ooof, it's been a while since I've had a proper match with someone, haha!"

"I've brought some throwing knives. I guess I should've brought an extra archery set," replied Alisha shyly.

"Oh, um, it's okay," Eddie assured her, walking near the weapons, simply looking but not touching. "No problem at all. Right, Shouts?"

Shoutmon nodded almost snarkily and shook his tail. Scales shot off the tip of his appendage, landing on the ground. He then grabbed a big one off the base of his appendage and threw it at the same target Alisha had used for her arrows. Like a buzzsaw, the scale sliced it in half as it bent through the air like a boomerang, then shot right back at the target, hitting the bullseye perfectly. Alisha's jaw dropped as she witnessed this feat. She looked back at Shoutmon to see him puffing at his claw tips like a showoff, smirking and chuckling under his breath as he whipped his tail, making a cracking sound. "Hehe," Shoutmon remarked. "Impressed, Princess?"