Journey to be a Ranger

<Chapter Six>

Anna woke early the next day to get a head start on school. Lifting her math book, notebook, and answer key out of her school bin, she carried them to the kitchen table. She glanced at the clock, checking what time it was. The clock read 7:30. Anna nodded once in satisfaction, and set to work on her math. An hour later, Anna finally finished math and quickly finished her other subjects of school. When all her school was done, she headed back to her room to dress. Looking over the shelves that held her clothes, she selected gray lounge pants, a dark gray T-shirt, and a dark brown sweatshirt. Sweatshirts, Anna noted, were the best. Grabbing her snow boots from her closet, she struggled to get them on. Finally getting them on, she laced up the front of the boots and headed for the garage.

"Good morning, Anna!" Sylvia, Anna's mom called out from the kitchen. She had just woken up.

Anna smiled, "Morning!" She opened the garage door and walked in. A cold wall of air hit her. Shivering slightly, she walked in farther. Glancing around the shelves that lined one side of the garage, she muttered, "I know I saw it in here... Ah." She spotted it on one of the highest shelves and frowned. "Well let's find a solution, shall we?" She asked herself. Anna looked all around the garage until she spotted a wooden ladder. Grabbing it with two hands, she walked slowly towards the shelf that held her prize. The ladder was more like two ladders attached at the top. From the side, it looked a little like a triangle. Setting the ladder by the shelf that held her prize, she climbed up it. Reaching the top, she spotted the prize. Grabbing it carefully, she climbed back down the ladder with only one hand and two feet.

'I suppose in this instance the rule that Will follows, three out of four, doesn't really work.' she reflected.

Stepping down on the cold cement she held her prize out at arm length.

It was a compound bow, with 20 pound draw weight. She knew that the Ranger's bows were 80 pound, but she didn't think they had a bow with that much draw weight.

Grinning, she looked at it for a few more moments. Her grin faded when she realized that she needed arrows, and the arrows were most likely up on the shelf. Scowling, she set the bow down and climbed back up the ladder. Finally, she had the bow, arrows, and a quiver. She strapped the quiver on around her waist and putting the arrows in it, grabbed the bow and headed back inside.

Sylvia's eyebrows raised as she saw Anna armed with the bow, "Be careful, sweetie." Anna grinned at her, "Of course!" Anna grabbed a big cereal box and continued on her way.

Stepping out into the cold, Anna headed for the back of the house, keeping her ears and eyes alert. She would scan the ground in front of her, looking for tracks, and then suddenly snap her vision up to see if she could catch any movement in the woods. Once she spotted a squirrel as it scurried up a tree, but other than that, it was an uneventful walk.

When she arrived at the cabin, she unlocked the door with a key and stepped inside, closing the door behind her softly. It wasn't too much warmer in the cabin as opposed to outside the cabin, but it was a little bit, and Anna appreciated it. Quietly, Anna crept over to one of the rooms, her soft boots making virtually no noise. She paused outside the doorway, and then lept inside, ducking to avoid any blow that she imagined might be coming. Whirling around, she scanned the room.  The room was empty. A little disappointed that there was no one, Anna repeated the progress for the next room. Again, no one was there. Standing up from the crouch she had been in, Anna walked to the door of the cabin. Opening it, she walked out into the snow and locked the door behind her.

Walking a ways away from the cabin, Anna propped the cereal box up with a stick and backed away a couple yards from the make-shift target.

The quiver of arrows was hooked on a belt, which was strapped around her waist. She glanced down at the bow in her right hand.

"I practically have no idea what I'm doing." She commented to herself aloud. 'Does the bow go in the right hand or left hand?' She frowned in thought, 'Well, I'm right handed... So I probably pull back on the string with my right hand...?'  She switched the bow to her left hand, and frowned when her left arm was over the arrow shelf. Shrugging mentally, she drew an arrow out with her right hand, and  nocked it awkwardly, resting it on the arrow rest. She pulled back on the string with her right hand, using her back muscles as well as her arm muscles. Anna frowned, her hand was blocking her view a little, as well as being in the way. Mentally, she shrugged again, "Maybe that's just how it is.'  Taking a deep breath, she released the arrow. It missed the target by a foot or so, sliding under the snow. Anna bit her lip and went to retrieve the arrow. Picking it up, she walked back to her original place and shot again. Again the shot missed. "Did you just think you could walk out here and shoot like a Ranger?" She asked herself sarcastically. Rangers' accuracy with a longbow was legendary. They were able to shoot four or five arrows in the span of a few seconds, while still being dead accurate. Anna sighed quietly, and drew another arrow. Nocking it, and drawing back, she stopped. Her hand was, again, blocking her vision. Gently, she released the tension in the strings and placed the arrow back in the quiver.

"This can't be right." She muttered. Switching the bow to her right hand, she drew an arrow, nocked it, and rested it on the arrow rest. Her face brightened, "This is a lot easier." She said aloud. She took a deep breath, let it out part way, and then released. The arrow missed the target by several inches. Anna shrugged, "Just need more practice." After retrieving the arrows, Anna returned to her spot and began shooting again. She shot two more arrows, missing each one. Drawing another arrow, she nocked it, and rested it on the shelf. Pulling back on the string, Anna took a quick breath, and released.

Thunk.

The arrow hit the cereal box at an angle, puncturing all the way through. Anna grinned excitedly and went to retrieve her arrows.

'An ordinary archer practices until he gets it right. A ranger practices until he never gets it wrong.' The old Ranger's adage ran through her head, and she returned to her shooting position.

She shot again and again, some missing completely, some missing closely, and some hitting the box. Each time she shot, she tried drawing, nocking, and firing faster, hoping to be able to get up to Ranger speed.

After thirty minutes of being out there, Anna decided that she should head inside. Walking to the cabin first, she unlocked the door and went inside. Placing the bow and quiver on the table, Anna plopped down on the couch, rubbing her hands together to warm them. After sitting there for a few minutes, looking out the window, she stood up again, grabbed the bow and quiver and headed out, locking the door behind her.

Outside the door, she contemplated how best to carry her bow and quiver. The bow, she decided, should go over her head, like in all the movies. Deciding this, Anna tried putting it over her head. The first try was rewarded with the hard part of the bow whacking into her head. The next try was successful, but after it was on, Anna decided that it was uncomfortable and not practical. If she needed the bow in a hurry, she couldn't get it easily. So, she held the bow in her right hand by the grip, and the quiver in the other hand. Setting out this way, she made it home in a few minutes, jogging. She headed through the front door to the garage. Anna went to the nearest wall, and leaned the bow and arrows up against it. Nodding in satisfaction, she removed her boots, and went to her room. Plopping on her bed, she smiled to herself.

Day One: Completed.

1448 words! Biggest chapter I've written! *Whoop whoop*

See! Some ranger's apprentice stuff is coming in here! More to come!

Thank you again for reading this book! I really appreciate all the comments and views and votes! If you are enjoying this story click that star please! If you do, I'll check out your stories too!

Sorry that I haven't updated in so long! I just wanted to try using a bow myself before I wrote about it! (it's really fun) O.O

As I said in one of my conversations, I am aiming to update once, maybe twice, a week! I will try to stick to that schedule. :)

<<Evara>>