Lexa breathed in, deep and slow. The bow was complete - she had finished it that morning after a week of carving, sanding, smoking, bending, weaving the bowstring, wrapping the handle to grip it better. The bow had been strung and it hadn't cracked. Lexa nearly cried when it had. The moment had come. It was time to shoot the arrow.
Of course, they weren't Lexa's arrows. Anya had made that infinitely clear. She was borrowing Anya's. Any damage to them Lexa would have to not only make the arrow back for Anya, but make a second for her as well for damaging the original. On top of the fact that Anya was making her craft her own set, so Lexa no longer needed to use Anya's. The branches had been cut, but carving the arrow shafts would be a whole other task that would have to be complete. Lexa had already suffered through the week of nearly no action, just endless carving and smoking the bow. But the result was - if she did say so herself - glorious. The bow, when strung, stretched from the ground to just below Lexa's eyes. Unbent it was taller than she was.
Anya was watching from the trees as Lexa breathed in and out. She started off small. The target was fairly sizeable and only just across the clearing. Lexa stood in the middle of the clearing. A distance that was no challange. Lexa had her stance perfectly. After years of watching the others, she wasn't about to fuck it up.
"Both eyes open," Anya called out. Lexa's only fault. Her left eye jumped open, edging closed to keep the target in focus. Of course Anya was right. The right eye focused on the target. The left eye's job was to watch everything else. Lexa closed both of them, breathed again, and drew the string.
The arrow rested on her finger for just a moment as Lexa checked the lining of the target to her bow and then with hardly a movement, just a straightening of her left two fingers, the arrow shot forward. The pain was momentary - the feathers cut into the top of her finger as the arrow flew by. Less than a second later, the arrow landed with a thump and rested quivering in the middle of the wooden target. Lexa relaxed her arm and smiled inwardly.
"Retrieve it," Anya said. Lexa walked obediently to the target and gently removed the arrow. "Again. Three paces back."
So it continued. Lexa would walk back three paces, shoot the arrow, retrieve it and then repeat the process. The arrow continued to land in the middle of the target until eventually the target was on one end of the clearing and Lexa was standing at the other. The target was considerably smaller than when she started. Lexa breathed, drew and released. With a thump, the arrow landed in the middle of the target.
"Good," Anya said with a smile. She walked across the clearing Lexa soared at the compliment. "Now. I want you to do the same thing again, only instead of shooting one arrow, you're going to shoot three in succession." Anya stepped away from the tree, revealing three wooden targets. "One arrow in each target."
Lexa breathed for a moment. This challenge was considerably harder. Shooting the arrows themselves was simple enough, but the drawing was more difficult. Anya saw the conflict in Lexa's face...Lexa groaned inwardly. She needed to work on keeping her emotions inside.
"It is easier if you hold the other two arrows in your left hand as you draw rather than drawing them anew. We're going to work on incorporating the drawing during a fight later. For now it's just accuracy practice. We are just starting out after all," Anya said with a smile.
"Ok," Lexa said, and at Anya's request, drew three arrows, strung one and held the other two with her left hand. It was a little more awkward. Lexa started out slowly, and all three arrows landed off center. Luckily none went flying into the woods, or Lexa would have to go hunt after it. Anya made her repeat at that line until all three arrows were landing in the center. And then three paces back and repeat. This go around was much more difficult than the first. Each time the arrows landed off center, at least one in the group of three, and Anya refused to let her move back until every arrow was centered.
Lexa nearly threw her bow to the ground in frustration during one of the rounds, but near the end of it the repetition began to work its way into her muscles and her arms began to move automatically. The arrows started landing in the center. Finally she was across the clearing as before.
"Good. Now I want you to draw the arrows, instead of holding them in your hand, and do the same thing," Anya said. Lexa had to control herself to not roll her eyes, but she stepped up to the first line, drawing her first arrow. She breathed, drew, and was about to shoot when a grounded jumped down from the trees, landing in the middle of the clearing. Lexa barely saved the arrow from shooting off into the woods. Anya strode forward.
"The Ice Clan. Attack in the northern woods. We need you," the Grounder said. Lexa saw his face and placed him - it was Ian, one of the Grounders that worked with the Heda. If Ian was coming, it was important. And Anya was one of the most important warriors they had.
"Lexa," Anya said. "Bring the bow. But you also get your weapon for now." Lexa's arm darted out to grab the knife as Anya tossed it. Lexa hung the bow over her shoulder next to the quiver.
Anya reached up and grabbed a branch. She had begun teaching Lexa the art of climbing through the trees, but Lexa wasn't the best at it, so she clumsily climbed up after Anya and the three grounders were off, running and swinging through the branches much faster than on the ground. Lexa's heart was pounding, the blood thumping in her ears. The firsts always brought their seconds into battle with them. Otherwise the seconds would never learn. So this was Lexa's first real test. Nothing else could even begin to compare.
They passed through the village - Anya's camp was on the south side and the skirmish was on the north side. Anya appeared alongside Lexa. "I want you to stay in the trees. Your job is to guard with the bow. There will be grounders with you. If you see that I am taken down, you will come down and fight in my place. I expect you to do well. If I am overwhelmed, I expect you to assist me. Other than those two circumstances, you will take your orders from Connor. He will be in charge of the archers.
Lexa nodded. "I'll be leaving. You can spot me on the ground," Anya said. She reached up and smeared muddy ash on her eyes. "Here," she said, handing the jar to Lexa. "Put on warpaint. So they won't recognize you. And it gives you courage."
And then she was gone. Lexa followed Ian in the trees as he directed her over to Connor. Connor was grouped with five or six other grounders and some of the seconds. Lexa saw Ophus and Reed both with them, but no sign of Costia. She must be on the ground. "Lexa," Connor said. "Kom. Zog Isagedakru raun. Emo kom nort, lok tregedakru op. Emo gaf sis en, gif sis op. Pesh?"
"Pesh," the other grounders nodded. They took their positions around the forest, bows strung, arrows knocked and drawn. Lexa smeared the warpaint across her eyes. She was generous with the paint, and felt it drip down her face as it dried. She didn't care. She waited. The forest remained quiet for a moment. The others on the ground must be hidden.
And then in a rush of noise and sound, the Ice Clan burst from the trees with screetches and yells. "Zog op!" Connor yelled, and arrows began to whiz and fly. Isagedakru went down with screams. And then the grounders were fighting and Lexa couldn't tell one from another. She jumped from skirmish to skirmish, looking for Anya.
Lexa spotted her in a moment, busy fighting an Isagedakru twice her size. Another was circling around the back, drawing her sword. Lexa swallowed, drew and shot. The arrow landed in her neck and she was down. Lexa shivered and shook it off. She could not afford to be distracted.
And so it repeated. Lexa spotted other Tregedakru in need of assistance and shot from the trees. The geda almost always went down. And then most of the time she was waiting, looking, unable to tell Tregedakru from Isagedakru. Her body was tensed the entire time, like her bowstring.
Then it was over. Isagedakru left over disappeared into the trees, melting away to deal with their wounded and leave the dead. Connor nodded and the archers lept down from the trees. Juram, one of the archers, rushed off with Ophus, her second, to do her job as one of the healers. The other, Corin, had remained in the village in case Juram and Ophus were killed. She would be joining them soon.
Lexa ran over to Anya. "I'm fine," Anya said. "You?"
"Shaken," Lexa said honestly.
Anya grabbed her shoulder. "We talk later. Now, the others need us. Come." Lexa followed as Anya walked through the clearing. Most of the dead they came on was Isagedakru. Until...
"Kirsch," Lexa said softly, stopping dead in her tracks. Anya continued on ahead, but all of a sudden Lexa couldn't hear anything. Her vision narrowed to a body laying in the grass, neck twisted at a horrible angle. His eyes were closed, thankfully. But he was clearly dead.
Lexa fell to her knees, the tears coming hard and fast and silent. She and Kirsch had never been best of friends, but all the seconds were closer now that they accepted Lexa.
"Lexa?" a young male voice called. Ophus stumbled into the clearing, Reed at his side as they saw Lexa kneeling next to Kirsch.
"Yes," she choked out. They stood behind her, saying nothing. And then Anya was back in the clearing. Lexa looked up, wiped her tears.
"Sorry," she said and stood. "Is there anything you need me to do?"
Anya strode over to Kirsch and touched his cheek. "It is always a tragedy to lose one so young," she said softly. Lexa said nothing. Anya reached out and touched Kirsch's shoulders. "Yu gonplai ste odon."
The four grounders stood. "Come. There are four others. Everyone else is Isagedakru. Let's go." Mechanically the Tregedakru worked together, gathering up the bodies. They removed the weapons and arrows from the Ice Clan dead, then piled the bodies up to burn them. The five dead Tree Clan warriors they carried back to the village.
Tohru emerged, the village Heda, as the warriors stumbled back into the village. Juram and Corin tended to the numerous casualties in the healer's tent. Everyone else gathered in the village. The five warriors were laid on the ground, wrapped in dark cloth. There would be a sigil that night - all of the warrior's families would watch over them through the night. In the morning, the bodies would be burned.
"Bennet, Samus, Westley, Kan and Kirsch," Tohru said after everyone had gathered. "You have given your lives in battle. Your sacrifice will help the Clan, and your lives were lived in service to the village. You die in honor and peace. Yu gonplei ste odon.
"I will give an extra word to Kirsch as a seken. He had much potential, and we mourn his loss."
The village bowed their heads as the light faded from the sky. The members of the fallen's families stepped forward to give vigil. And every one of the nine remaining seconds stepped forward to mourn Kirsch. Costia (thankfully, was safe and sound), Ophus, Reed, Lexa, Janus, Alana, Sanse, Yunto and Gabe. The nine of them gathered around Kirsch. Like Lexa, Kirsch had come from away, so had no family to mourn him other than his first, Kylie, who gravely stepped forward. Lexa remembered back when Kirsch only had one rock in his pile. He, like Lexa and like the other seconds, had improved with practice. He had five or so rocks in his pile, even with most of the seconds.
The silence fell as last minute whispers were exchanged. Anya stepped forward to Lexa and pulled her away for a moment. "You fought well, and protected me. That is all I can ask for. Thank you," Anya said. She rested her hands on Lexa's shoulders and leaned forward to touch her forehead to Lexa's. "And leave your warpaint. It looks good how it dripped." She disappeared into the gloom.
Lexa looked over into the nearest puddle. The warpaint had been smeared across both her eyes, like a raccoon's mask, and had dripped down her cheeks in three and four long strands, stopping at her mouth. Lexa nodded to herself, and then joined the other seconds in a long, silent vigil.