An Archer's Tale: Serena's Story (An Avatar: The Last Airbender Fan Fic)

Chapter 4.5

Alright, I've been skipping over my updating duties on *most* of my stories, to my deepest regret, but now it's summer so I have lots more time to get over the writer's block that keeps deciding that it loves me... Not a fun feeling, knowing what you want to say but having no idea whatsoever how to say it so that it makes sense to people who aren't telepathic. Anyway, here's a special chapter 4.5 for all y'all who actually read this. I will point out the moment at which the writer's block I had been fighting finally overtook me until only about yesterday...

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I made a habit of going into the woods and hunting. Frankly, the town was starting to bore me, and solitude was good for my mind. Most of my thoughts strayed back to Aunt Wu and her predictions when I wasn't focused on my prey.

On our first day in the village after we had visited Aunt Wu I made the excuse of hunting to slip away from Aang and my cousins so that I could go and be alone. Walking in the woods I had come across a clearing with a river running through the middle of it. It was a good spot to hunt, many animals would come here to drink, and the tall oak trees had many leaves for cover. I sat on a branch and waited. It was a good place not just to hunt, but also for me to think. Being around water, especially salt water, had always cleared my mind and allowed me to access new perspectives on important problems. It wasn't exactly a Waterbender thing, but it probably did stem from some aspect of waterbending.

Since that day, I had often revisited that site, and the butcher was amazed at how many animals I brought in each afternoon. Yes, it was definitely a good hunting spot. Most days I spent the entire morning  there. In my free time I practised my waterbending in the river when I was certain no animals were near.

"More game? But you just brought some in this morning, Serena! I swear, I'm going to have more meat than I can sell if you keep this up!" The butcher, (*OH NOES!!! THE WRITER'S BLOCK!! IT COMETH FOR ME!! MY IDEAS! THEY DIE BEFORE MY EYES!!!!! T_T*)  Jun, who I'd actually had time to get to know, teased me.

"Hey, I thought we had an understanding here," I smiled at him as I handed his son Akozo my game, "I give you the animals I kill and you pay me a fraction of what you're selling them for. If you'd like me to find another butcher that I can make more money from to sell them to..." I trailed off, both of us knowing I would never do that. Jun laughed and handed me the money I earned.

"I'm sure I'll be seeing you again soon, Serena, but have a good day anyways," he said, stepping into the back room with Akozo to go cure the meats. I waved and walked out of the shop, following the path back down to the forest with my bow in hand. I wasn't going to get anymore hunting done today, as the sun was already setting, but I wanted to practise some of my more advanced waterbending moves, and have some time to relax and meditate. Yes, we were taught how to meditate in the Fire Nation. Only us Yuyan though, not the regular soldiers. Our teacher told us that we had to be in peak condition, mental and physical, so we could concentrate and focus on the battlefield and tune out all distractions.

I got to my clearing and sat down on the edge of the river, my bow placed next to me and my full quiver on my back. I sighed contentedly and closed my eyes, concentrating on the gurgling of the stream as it flowed past me. I let my thoughts flow away with the water and let the sounds of nature enter my ears. I could picture everything around me, fine tuning it using the pattern of the sound waves to create the picture in my head. Everything was as it should be, nothing out of place. An owl was hooting a few trees west of the river, just waking up for the night. A deer was picking at some leaves on a low branch about ten feet to the north, towards the volcano. A few crickets were doing a few vocal warm ups on the other bank of the river.

But it was all silent in the south towards the village, the direction I came from. That wasn't right. The forest was always noisy if you knew what to listen for. The only time it was completely silent was when there was a predator around. My hand strayed over to my bow, and I pulled an arrow from my quiver.

I spun around slowly and crouched down, my bow held horizontally. I slowly loaded an arrow onto the string and pulled it back. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes again, separating my mind from my body and drifting into the channel of sound. I knitted my eyebrows together, straining to hear even the slightest sound. There was a slight swaying of leaves, but it wasn't enough for me to fire at. I'd need something more substantial before I shot my arrow.

A twig snapped and it was enough. I heard the familiar twang! of my bowstring before I even realized I had shot. I fired another arrow off, and another, pinning the creature to the tree behind it by the legs. I smiled slightly and opened my eyes, then stood up and walked over to my struggling captive. It was about twenty feet out of the clearing, and once I was who it was that I had shot at I broke into a run.

"Sorry!" I called out, running up to them and kneeling down, pulling the arrows out of the tree and putting them back in my quiver. I took the hand that was held out to me and stood up, brushing the dirt and leaves off my pants. Once I was done, I looked over at the person and gave them a hard stare.

"Do you make a habit of following people into the woods?" I asked them, pushing back my hair.