Flora was running out of fabric. She had been using her measurements of Barret to make him clothing that actually fit. Kathrine often helped her, happily sewing whenever she had the chance. She had made him a dozen shirts, a few pairs of pants, and an overcoat, despite his protests that he didn't really need all of it. She was happy to make all of this, as he only had a few other pieces of clothing before.
They hadn't gone down to Edinmire at all, and none of them were too keen on going so, as the number of Templar soldiers on the road had made them wary. It was inevitable that they would have to go down eventually, but until then, the house was their safe haven.
Trace had also been busy. The last three days, he, Eric, Mike, and Evals had been working on trying to patch up the oasis room. It was one of the rooms that hadn't been cleaned up after the battle in mid-October, and it had proved to be the most frustrating project. While the structural damage was thankfully minimal, and had even been hastily repaired by the caretakers, the roof was still a mess and the wall wouldn't function around where Red had blasted a hole.
Still, they tried their best to get things running again, as it would be nice to relax in there. Keith and Natani sparred for hours on end, with Zen and Kat watching to make sure they weren't hurting each other or themselves. Flora wanted to help, but she proved to be less useful than she thought, unfortunately getting in the way. Barret was clueless about how the room worked, and was only there to help move heavy things when they needed him. Flora was looking for something to do, when Barret walked past with his longbow. "Where are you going with that? You can just summon food on the tables."
"Oh, I'm headed outside to get some fresh air and put in some practice. I hope Trace doesn't mind me putting some holes in the trees around here."
"Probably not. Mind if I come and watch?"
"Sure, although my training will be different than what I've been doing with you." Outside, Barret set up several wooden scraps as targets, scattering them around the garden, usually partially obscured by various objects. Once satisfied, he simply stood in place for a few minutes, looking at everything around him. Slowing his breathing, he drew his bow, and whipped to his left. The arrow sailed with a satisfying thunk in the side of a tree. Moving to a different position, he looked for his next target. For over an hour he did this, moving from place to place, finding new targets every time.
Flora watched in wonder, seeing Barret hit most of his shots, with only the furthest away targets giving him pause. After he collected his arrows, he came back to her. "Why don't I have targets to shoot at?" she asked.
"Well, for starters we haven't had any. I would love to get some actual archery targets, like the ones the Templars use. On top of that, you're still learning. This is good for me because these shots are challenging, they make me think before I just let the arrow loose."
"Oh."
"You'll get there." he said, ruffling her hair. "Talent only comes with time and practice. I'd still like to find you a proper bow that's your size."
"I wonder if we could summon one?" she said, walking over to a marble pillar. She placed her hand on it, activating the runes, and a shortbow with a quiver of arrows appeared in front of her. She smiled, picking it up.
"Why didn't I think of that?" Barret walked over, and summoned some targets, as well as some clay jars. "Here, put these up around the yard wherever you want. I'll set some of these up at the edges." The rest of the afternoon was filled with them turning the garden into their own personal archery range. Once the dozen targets were set up, Flora took aim, just like how Barret showed her, and fired the first arrow at a clay jar. It flew through the air with a wicked hiss, and pierced the side of the jar, splitting it in half.
"Nice shot!" a voice came from the balcony above. The two looked up to see Keith and Natani leaning over.
"How long have you two been there?" Flora asked, blushing at the compliment.
"About half an hour. We hadn't seen you two all afternoon, figured we ought to see what trouble you were making." Natani smirked. "I'm glad you're keeping busy."
"Don't mind us, we're just getting some fresh air too." Keith said, jumping up on the railing and leaning back. "It's actually not cold out, so I'm happy to be outside."
"Just try to forget they're there. Focus on your target." Barret said, pulling Flora back to the ground. For the rest of the afternoon and evening, Flora fired arrows, and a rotating cast of observers came to watch. Barret was quiet, but would occasionally ask her to hit a specific target, move a target somewhere else, or collect arrows that had missed. Eventually, Flora lowered the bow.
"Well?" She panted, drenched in sweat. "How was that?"
"Not bad at all." Barret said with a smile. "There's not much more I can actually teach you. The only way for you to improve now is through training, diligence, and time. We don't have to do this every day, but it will be nice to get out and do this every once in a while. And if you have questions, don't be afraid to ask."
"I'm certain you two have worked up an appetite." Trace said, leaning over the balcony. "And if you don't mind, I'd like to be able to use my back patio as a patio again. I'd like to not find arrows sticking out of my fence. Kathrine's got dinner ready, so clean up out here, clean up yourselves, and come eat."
Barret walked over to a well-punctured target. "Will do. Shouldn't take us too long."