I feel another pleasurable rush as I watch the arrow strike the target, just left and down slightly from the centre.
"Again." John stands just off to the side, watching intently as I go through the day's practice.
I draw another arrow, guiding it smoothly from the quiver at my side and to the bow. I nock the arrow without slowing and swiftly and smoothly draw the arrow back to my cheek, breathing slow and steady as I aim, then let go.
The arrow this time hits just to the right and up of the last arrow, hitting the target dead centre.
A nice grouping of seven arrows adorns the target. A testament to my freakishly rapid ability to learn. I know for certain now that being a monster has given me the ability to learn crazy fast. I should not be this good at archery after only a couple of weeks.
Not that I was complaining, of course. I'd take every bullshit ability I could get. Increased strength, speed and senses, magic. Oh hey, I've got to ask mum about magic! If I could use that, it would be amazing. And I remember magic users being labelled as 'Walking Artillery' by Admiral Turbo Sue.
Besides, being able to hurl lightning bolts or fireballs around would be a dream come true.
Sorry, humans. I may have been one of you once, but even with the negatives being a monster is just so much more awesome.
A stab of pain in one of my ears wrenches me out of my thoughts and sets my ear fluttering wildly.
"Ow! What the hell was that for?!" I glare at John as he pulls his hand back from where he flicked me, returning my glare with one of his own.
"I was talking to you, Kid. And it is pretty Gods damned rude to ignore someone when they are. Don't your parents teach you anything."
I snort, but stop glaring and stare at the ground. I manage to force out a stubborn apology. "Sorry."
"Mm. Well don't bloody well do it again, then. You want to learn, you have to focus. And the last place you want to lose focus is while shooting or hunting. Now, go get your arrows."
-
I watch in confusion as John feeds the small fire he has started in a fire pit behind his house.
"Uh, so what exactly does building a fire have to do with archery?"
John grunts, but doesn't look up from the fire. "I'm going to teach to make arrows."
"That… does not really answer my question."
No reaction.
Instead, he stands up and makes his way away from the fire and towards the back of the building. He returns with a bundle of sticks and a sack.
How big does he want this fire to be.
Dropping the sack and bundle on the ground a safe distance away from the fire, he waves me over.
"Sit down, Kid. This is important. Now, normally you'd want to do this with green branches, but you can still learn using these..."
-
"Ease up on it, Kid. You're trying to straighten it out, not break it in half."
"Mm, sorry." I relax the pressure on the arrow shaft, bending it gently across the heated-up straightening block to work out the kinks. When I'm finally satisfied, I pass it over to the older hunter.
He rolls it in his hands, eyeing the shaft. "Not bad, Kid. You've got a good eye for this. Try another."
-
"Catch."
I reflexively catch what John throws at me, my hearts leaping a bit at the sudden object coming my way.
"...Why did you throw a piece of wood at me?"
"You push the shafts through the holes to get rid of the bark and shape them to what you need."
"Oh... ok?"
I roll it in my hands, peering through the holes curiously.
"It's not going to bite ya, Kid. Get a move on."
"Well you could have said you wanted me to try it. Geez."
"I just did. Move it."
-
My hands are starting to ache from the having to force the arrow shafts through the block. It's tedious work and hard on the hands, but John wouldn't be teaching me if it wasn't important.
With a few more jerky pulls, I drag the last shaft free; perfectly cleaned and shaped.
I look up at John, who had finished his stack a while ago and had been setting up what was probably the stuff for the next step.
I had never known how much preparation went into just making arrows. And not even a full arrow, just the wooden shafts.
I can feel my attention span start to slip and quickly drag myself back to the real world, before John can have a go at me for it again. "I am done."
He looks like he was just about to snap at me, whatever he was going to say dying on his lips. I grin internally at his put-off look. He grunts instead. "Fine, hand them here. I'll do this part, since it's easy enough to get by watching."
He pulls out a jar filled with what looks like oil, and a stained brush. I hand him my bundle and he sets them on top of his own, before taking the brush and opening the jar. "You want to seal the shafts so they don't just go and warp at the slightest bit of moisture and ruin all the work you put into them."
-
By the end of the lesson, my head felt like it was going to burst from all the stuff crammed into it.
How to cut a nock in the arrow. How to carve the bone or horn for the insert in the nock. Cutting the feathers. Attaching them.
John wasn't one for delicate teaching. He would make me do it again and again until he was satisfied.
I lost count of how many feathers I went through trying to cut the fucking things to shape.
Eventually, though, the arrows were complete; minus the arrowheads.
"Don't worry about them. I'll have to put in an order for them with Sam."
"Sam?"
John looks at me like I'm a fool. "The blacksmith."
"Ah." There wasn't really anything else to say.
I start to collect my things, placing my odds and ends in my bag and putting my bow over my chest.
"Hey Kid."
When I look his way, John almost looks like he is smiling; the corner of his mouth slightly upturned. "Tomorrow morning, just after sun up. Be here. I think it's time you started to learn how to hunt."
"Really?!" I'm grinning. Yes! Finally, I can actually start doing something! I'd started to panic slightly as every day passed and I went almost nowhere. I didn't know how large the window of opportunity for increasing my growth rate was, and if I missed it I have no clue what I would do.
"I'll admit, you've done good, Kid. You've come further, quicker than anyone I've seen. I think you're about ready."
His face hardens. "Don't think it means you can slack off. You've still got a long way to go, and if you don't keep up; you'll have to go find someone else to teach you. Now, get going."
I do as he says, practically prancing down the road.
Haha, yes! Evolution here I come! I wonder what I'll turn into? Ooh, what if I get a Blessing? Fuck, that would be so awesome.
I let out a giddy giggle that earns me a few amused looks from passersby, but who cares; Ultimate Power here I come!
Oh fuck.
How am I supposed to get here just after the sun comes up?
Fuck, fuck, fuck. No way I could get up in the middle of the night to start walking. Hell, I doubt Mum or Dad would let me.
Shit, what do I do…
I cringe as an idea comes to mind. I really, really don't want to have to ask.
…But I really don't have any choice.
This is going to be awkward and uncomfortable as fuck…
-
I move through the massive open doors of one of the Stables, and make my way inside.
I get friendly greetings and smiles from most people moving past, with some not quite friendly scattered throughout that I force myself to ignore.
Running my gaze around the large room, my heart plummets and gut seizes when I can't spot anyone I know. Sena's mum is nowhere to be seen.
Oh god, I'm going to just have to stand here awkwardly while I wait for someone I know to show up, aren't I?
...S-should I knock on Sena's door?
I spend a few more agonising minutes trying to work myself to up just do something; made worse by people looking my way to see what I am doing. I can feel myself getting more and more uncomfortable from their attention.
Screw it, I'll go wander around town for a bit and come back.
I turn and head back towards the doors. I have to pull up short to avoid crashing into some...one.
"Mira!"
Oh thank god, someone I know.
I hug her before she can react.
Geez, when did I get this huggy? All the centaurs must be rubbing off on me.
"So, I finally get to meet the elusive Nilas, then?" A woman's voice coming from behind Mira makes me glance over her shoulder at- Holy shit.
She is the tallest centauress I have ever seen.
No, seriously. She has a few good inches on any others I've seen around. She's almost as tall as Dad.
Her blonde hair is done in two braids that came down over her shoulders and reached just past her chest, which was…well. Yeah. Her hide was also the same as Mira's, so I was going to go ahead and guess this was her mother. She was carrying a woven basket full of what looked like clothes.
"Uh… H-hello."
The woman smiles down at me. "Hello. Let us move out of the way the door before people get upset."
We move inside again after Mira says hello and gives me a hug in return, and Mira's mum goes off towards what it probably their room while Mira and I sit on some of the free pillows.
"So, uh, what have you been doing today?" Wonderful conversation, Nilas.
Mira doesn't seem to mind, though. "I have been helping my mother with chores. We just got back from washing clothes at the river. You should come down one time, playing in the water is fun."
"I might just do that."
Mira looks me over, eyes jumping from my quiver to my bow. "You had another hunting lesson, today?"
I nod. "Yeah. Well, more of an archery lesson. Have not really done… any, uh, hunting yet."
"I see. Are you enjoying it?"
"Uhuh. I am learning a lot of things, and it is fun to see myself improve."
She gives me a smile. "That is good."
The awkward silence reigns again for a short time. I see Mira's ears perk up slightly when I open my mouth. "Uh, do you… know where Sena's mum is? I wanted to, uh, ask her something."
I catch her ears twitch slightly before she answers. "She was still at the river with Sena as we left. She would be back a little later. What do you want to ask her?"
I scratch the side of my neck. "I want to ask if it is alright for me to stay here for the night. John, the hunter training me, wants me to be at his house just after the sun rises tomorrow. No way I could walk there by then from my house."
The blonde centauress tilts her head to the side slightly. "Why would you need to ask? Any centaur can stay here if they want."
"Well, I did not really know that, and, uh, I would not know where to stay. It…yeah."
Mira's smile gets a little wider. "You could stay in our room for the night. I am sure my Mother would not mind. I will ask."
I blink. "Uh, really? Wow, thank you."
"Though, once Sena hears she will most likely want to do the same."
"Heh, yeah. She does like being involved in things, regardless of what others think."
Mira giggles at that. "Yes, she does."
-
Mira's mum had no problems letting me stay the night, like Mira said. And sure enough, once Sena showed up with her mum she invited herself to the… wow, this is a sleepover isn't it? Last time in years I did something even remotely like that was crashing on a friend's couch after a LAN party. Not sure if I should feel awkward about it or not.
When Dad came around to get me and head home, I explained the situation and that was that.
Turns out that in the Stables, dinner is a very social affair. Food is cooked in bulk and served out to everyone, and the Stable was filled with the sound of conversation as we all ate.
I sat at a table with Mira, Sena, Aelle, Matthew and their parents. Though, Matthew was sat on the other side of the table, and his mother chose to ignore my existence once again.
I had to find out what the hell was going on there. I bet Mum would know.
I didn't miss the looks Mira and Sena's mothers were sending her. Somewhere between mildly disapproving and exasperated.
If anyone else noticed they didn't say anything. Instead, I chose to focus on Sena trying to convince Aelle to join in the impromptu sleepover, but he was having none of it. Apparently, Sena kicked in her sleep.
Great. Looks like I'll be putting Mira between me and her.
After everyone had finished eating, Sena's mother had gone after Matthew's as she left with Matthew in tow. One guess what they were probably talking about.
-
"Come on, Nilaaaas~. Sit doown~!" Sena grabs my arm and pulls hard enough to put me off-balance as I stagger towards her. I quickly sit down before she does any real damage.
Mira's family's room looks very similar to Sena's, with the addition of a few books and what looked like sewing equipment sitting on top of a small table in the corner, along with a few other random odds and ends.
"Alright, time for sleep, children." Mira's mother spoke up from where she was leaning against her husband's side. He was a thinner centaur, not as stocky or muscular as some of the others I'd seen; my father included. He had a dark grey hide and blonde hair a few shades darker than his wife's and daughter's. He was also, amusingly, shorter than his wife by an inch or two. Lucky guy.
"Aw, but Mrs. Liara, do we have to?" Sena, of course.
"Yes, Sena. Some of us have to get up early. Nilas included." Liara, Mira's mum, gives Sena a patient smile.
The sulky centauress sighs. "Okay..."
"Um, thank you again for letting me stay the night, Mrs Liara, Mr Ilurus."
"You are welcome to stay any time you like, Nilas." Mira's dad spoke up. A mischievous glint appears in his eye. "Besides, I am certain it is not something you will complain about any time in the future, hmm?" His eyes jumped to the girls on either side of me, before settling back on my own and he grins.
Liara slaps him on the stomach. "Behave, you." She turns us three kids. "Alright, get comfortable. It is time to turn the lanterns out."
A pair of arms wraps around my shoulders and pulls me over sideways. Yelping in surprisng and flailing, I hit a the floor with a dull thump. I strain my neck around and spot Sena's face close, grinning at me. "Good night, Nilas!"
"Uh… good night, Sena. Can you let me go?"
"Nope."
...Fine, whatever. I was used to sleeping with someone now, anyway.
Mira makes herself comfortable beside me, a number of blankets draped over her back as she offers me one with a pitying smile.
"Good night, Mira!"
"Good night, Sena."
I take it and throw it over myself and Sena, who has attached herself to me like a leech. With that, the lantern is put out and I settle down to sleep.
"Good night, Mrs Liara and Mr Ilurus!"
"Good night, Sena."
"Good night, everyone!"
"Sena. Sleep." Liara puts her hoof down.
A few seconds later, a sheepish voice comes from the figure behind me. "...Sorry."