Hey guys!

*Smiles sheepishly* You guys missed me, right?

Yeah, it's been a while since I updated, but to be fair, I was busy. School has been not a vibe.

So this is a bit of an apology chapter for being hiatus for so long. And also to remind you that I still exist and, in fact, not been consumed by a giant sea monster.

Or something like that. I could have just drowned in the bathtub. You'd never be able to tell.

Enjoy the chapter!

Orion didn't get a job as an archer, but he did get one at an archery range, which was the next best thing.

...or it would have been, if anyone in said archery range could shoot properly.

The place had a Wall of Fame for people who could shaft an arrow. A Wall of Fame. It was considered an achievement. Orion found himself taking back everything he said about the competency of the Hunters of Artemis. Evidently, his standards had just been astronomically high.

His thoughts were interrupted by an arrow piercing the bull's eye of the nearest target, followed by a singular cheer.

A red haired young man held the bow in the air, looking extremely pleased with himself.

Finally, Orion thought. Someone competent.

The man's companions were looking at him, wide-eyed. "Did you just yeet the arrow?"

Yeet. A word Orion had only recently learned meant "to throw." He felt what hope he still had wilt through his shoes and sank into the cracks of the floor.

"It worked," the young man was still insisting, hugging the bow to his chest as if to shield himself from any further assaults against the legitimacy of his most recent bull's eye. Orion found himself bristling. It was a compound bow. A delicate instrument. Have some respect.

"It was the wrong target!"

This was unacceptable, Orion thought, standing up from his position behind the counter before he knew what he was doing. For the sake of his own sanity, he was going to teach those mortal buffoons how to shoot straight. Preferably before they undid whatever progress he had made with his therapist through their sheer incompetence.

The young man blinked when Orion walked up to him with purpose in his gait. "You're holding your bow wrong," he said flatly.

The redhead looked down at his bow, which he was still cradling protectively, then glared back at him defensively. "I know that. I'm practicing."

Orion resisted the urge to sigh. It was going to be a long day. "Your elbow's supposed to be parallel to the ground, amongst other things. Let me show you…"

Today was nice, he thought. Incredibly trying with respect to his patience, but considerably lower than average with respect to the number of homicidal impulses. His therapist would be proud.

"Thanks for helping," the redhead walked up to him hours later as he was helping his brother. The little brother released the arrow, managing a nine out of ten. Not amazing, but he was showing more promise than his older brother ever did.

The boy beamed proudly, "Look! I did it!"

The redhead ruffled his hair, "Yeah, you're doing great." He cast a smile at Orion. "My name's Childe, by the way."

"Childe," he repeated, feeling a surge of newfound pity towards the man. Who would inflict such an atrocious name on their child? Orion almost forgave him for his transgressions against archery.

"Childe Wallet," he was scribbling something on a piece of paper, before pressing it to his hand. Orion blinked down at it. It was a series of numbers...another hotline? He wondered what Childe's getting at.

"It's my number," he said. "I was hoping to get more archery tips."

Archery tips. Orion nodded. "Sure."

He was going to have to invest in a phone. He was going to teach Childe how to shoot an arrow without offending every archer deity in existence if it was the last thing he did. "I'll call you."

"Great!" Childe grinned at him, before turning to pack things up with his brother.

His boss was looking at him contemplatively as he headed back to the desk he was supposed to be manning. "So how good are you at archery?"

"Very good." An understatement. He was, in fact, the best there was.

His boss tilted her head. "Well, you're supposed to be in trouble for abandoning your post, but I have a better idea."

"A better idea?"

She turned her eyes on him, a business woman's mind no doubt whirring as she sensed a potential opportunity for profit. As Orion could barely wrap his mind around the concept of a bank, much less capitalism, he decided to leave the business related things to his boss.

"What do you feel about teaching a class?"

I've been obsessed with a game called Genshin Impact lately. Childe Wallet was based off one of the characters, for no other reason than I thought it would be funny. This chapter is considerably shorter than previous chapters. I was pretty busy, so I couldn't write more. Also, I didn't want to write too much of something no one voted for, so bear with me here.

Speaking of which, please vote!

Your options are, once again:

A: Orion in therapy

B: Aradia in Medieval Tuscany

C: Iphigenia

D: AI

E: Suggest your prompt!

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