RP:Time To Take A Bow (And Arrow)

From HollowWiki

Summary: The bow Khitti had commission Alvina for Meri is finished and Meri's been brought to Frostmaw to receive her super secret gift.

Outside Frostmaw Towers, Frostmaw

Alvina || The weather has been unusually warm for the season in Frostmaw, but not so warm as to dull the bite of it’s infamous winds or enchanting snow storms. Unless, of course, you’re well prepared for such occasions. Alvina, being a regular occupant of this snowy tundra, is overly prepared with heavy cloak and navy garb. In place of bare arms, she’s wearing two matching navy gloves that extend into her hooded cloak and vanish seamlessly. A step or two off the main path up to Frostmaw towers, she’s set up a crude target. The thrum of a bow string is audible through the courtyard, but only because she isn’t a proficient ‘stealth’ marksman. Hell, she isn’t much of a marksman at all. But she knows how it should feel as it works, and failing miserably to hit the target several times doesn’t damage her pride. Her hair is spun into a braided bun, tucked just so against the back of her neck. If anyone should inquire about her whereabouts, in case they made it to the doors without noticing her, the clerk Helen would be kind enough to direct them back outside and to her particular and easy to find location under some sturdy pines.

Khitti || The ride to Frostmaw was no different than any other time lately that Khitti’s dragged Meri up here into the frozen wasteland. Except, it’s not so cold today? Weird. This is a boon for Meri, of course, as well as Khitti. “Huh, they must be having a heatwave here.” Nevermind the fact that for most warm-dwelling folk, it’d probably still feel like they were freezing their arses off--sorry, Meri. There wasn’t much context given to Meri about their trip; they were going hunting so she can get some practice, sorry it’s in Frostmaw, yes it was necessary to hunt here, something about learning in difficult terrain, etc. It also wouldn’t take much for Khitti to recognize that familiar ‘twang’ of a bow, causing Khitti to need to backtrack a little just before she’d lead Meri into towers. The redhead blinked a few times once the two reached the training area, a smirk soon finding her lips. “Am I gonna have to teach you how to use a bow too? This one’s already a handful,” she said in greeting. Khitti jutted out a thumb towards the blonde and added a beat later, “I’m lying. She’s doing amazingly. A bit like me when I first learned. Now if we can only pry Encara from her solitude and get the stealthiness down, she’ll be an excellent ranger.”

Meri is a handful sometimes, as she would slightly prove during that period of time when Khitti is trying to convince her they should go up to Frostmaw. Again. They just went to talk to Aira. It was cold then too. Why do we have to go hunting up there? Difficult terrain? But can't we put it off a little bit? Practice in other difficult terrain before we have to go back to practicing in cold terrain? No? We have to go hunt in Frostmaw? Fine! And it really is fine at first, for the first portion of the trip. You know, when they are still near the green stuff -- the stuff that is not typically perpetually snow-covered....but her tune changes as the temperature drops and there is some pouty-ness coming from Meri. It's not lasting though, for when Khitti reveals that they are not hunting at all but visiting a wild Alvina, Meri is pleasantly surprised. "Hunting, hm?" she says to Khitti with a smirk before nearing Alvina, greeting her with a smile and a wave. "Heeeeey Stranger. Look at you. How the heck have you been?" Meri looks well, once again wearing a certain black coat that Alvina bought her once upon a time for this trip to Frostmaw. Warm or not, Meri still wanted a jacket.

Alvina turns in smiling surprise to greet Khitti and Meri. “Be still my heart.” She laughs, waving to both of them in return. “Aira claims she’ll teach me someday but we keep missing each other.” comes the quick reply to Khitti’s ‘hello’. In her gloved hands, Khitti might recognize the weapon. She turns her gaze to Meri when Khitti points out she’s coming along in her archery training. A smirk, and the bard holds out her bow to Meri. “Let me see what you’ve got then. Teach -me- a lesson or two.” Here, she winks at Khitti and offers up the bow so both women might get a good look at it. The blue iron riser had been stained with a near ebony wood grain pattern, with a dark leather grip hand wrapped around the middle. There’s no denying the strength of the material but flashy blue isn’t everyone’s cup of tea and Khitti’s request for details didn’t suit the natural color. The curve of the limbs are subtle, not too flashy or deep. Holding the same color as the riser, thin intricate vines have been etched and painted green. Small emeralds cluster in leaf formations at random intervals along the swirls and waves. These embellishments aren’t visible from a distance. It would blend well in a forest or greenery based environment. Alvina’s enjoyed the work thoroughly. It had given her ideas for Aira’s future model; A natural but durable piece.

Khitti shrugged and gave Meri an innocent-but-not-so-innocent smile, “I guess I forgot that we were making a small stop first. Just entirely slipped my mind. I’m getting old you know. Soon you’ll have to deal with a senile Khitti. -That’s- sure to make life interesting for you.” That smile promptly turned into a mischievous grin before her attention was shifted back to Alvina as she handed over the bow to Meri, her words still directed at the blonde, “I might’ve gotten you a thing. You’re definitely going to want to wear gloves when you use it, though. Much like Diamond Dust, blue iron is pretty damn cold from what I’ve read. And, uh, don’t just stick it into a fire or something silly like that. It doesn’t deal well with extreme heat. I don’t think it’s got that nice ability of reforming itself in cold weather either, like black ice does.” She shooed Meri’s attention towards the archery target, “Time to try out your new toy! I thought it’d be best for you to have something better than that old thing we had sitting around the Warrior’s Guild’s training room when we finally meet with Orikahn.”

Meri might have given the bow examination first and foremost if Alvina did not hand it over her with the 'let me see what you got'. She was quick to take the bow into grasp, locating an arrow so that she can quickly take aim. Khitti's words almost come after Meri takes her shot, in what is not an attempt to show off. The blonde was just eager to shoot the shooty-thing. Just like she would be excited to swing the stabby thing. But when Meri registers that Khitti is speaking, she lowers the bow temporarily. Then comes the warning to wear gloves, which thankfully she already is, because warmer than normal or not, she is coming to Frostmaw wearing gloves. With the knowledge that this is a gift, Meri takes pause and actually examines the details of the bow. "Thank you," she says to Khitti, "It is perfect." A compliment to both commissioner and designer. Except she won't really know if it is perfect or not until she fires the thing, so the blonde relines up and releases her shot. It hits the makeshift target Alvina set up, but it is not perfectly centered upon the target area. Ah well, she is learning. A grin is cast toward Alvina and Khitti and then finally It's not a perfectly centered shot, but she does hit the target. "You two are the best."

Alvina grins broadly, hitching her thumb in Khitti’s direction when Meri offers thanks. “Thank her, it’s all her doing. I was just minding my own business…” After Meri shoots the target, Alvina cheers quietly. “Better than I’ve done in my twenty minutes out here.” Her cheeks and nose are rosy, this is not a fabrication. Not once has she hit the target. Ah well, she isn’t training. “Here, one more thing.” She gestures for Meri to bring the bow forward to show her some additional features. “ If only every bow could reform itself.” Sigh. “The weight is manageable, I started it on the lighter side. About 25 pounds, but here…” She points to pins located on both the top and bottom limbs that hold the string in place and taunt. “You can twist these out a smidge and restring it for a higher weight. I didn’t know how far along you were in your training so...better safe than sorry.” She smiles earnestly before offering a belated “Surprise?” She laughs, looking to Khitti and then back to the bow’s new owner. “If it ever falters, bring it back. And when you’re ready or the mood strikes you, give it a name.” Her gloved hands gesture in circles. “You know, for bonding purposes or whatever.” A note of seriousness follows. “I’m sure you’ll do great, if Khitti is teaching you. And Orikahn. That cat has an eye urm...eyes like a hawk. Aira’s no exception to that rule. Ragtag group of professional bow...wielders.” Or Archers Alvina. Archers would have worked too. “I can’t wait to hear the stories that come out of your adventures. Tell me everything.” Being a mother had this downside; time was hard to come by and stories were her lifeblood. Along with some ancient avian glowy stuff in places. Who’s taking score?

Khitti || “I’m glad you like it!” It wasn’t often lately that Khitti had happy moments, what with the stuff going on in Venturil and whatnot, but this was certainly one of them. “And yep! What Alvina said. Bows are nice and customizable like that. I really should get mine restrung with something less than ‘vampire-grade’ but I’m kind of attached to it now, especially since Onyx had put those runes on it to help me use it.” She could bear to get rid of anything that reminded her of Onyx now that they were gone--it was quite a turn of events really considering the fact that there was a time that Khitti couldn’t wait to be rid of the undead child. At the mention of Alvina wanting stories, Khitti smirked, “I’d invite you along, but you seem to have your hands full here with all these people wanting bows from you. Guess you’ll just have to wait for our autobiographies to hear all these stories.” As if she’d actually get time to write much of anything anymore.

Meri follows Alvina's instructions, letting her show off another feature of the bow. explaining that it is meant to allow her to restring her bow once she finds the weight she is comfortable with. This would take testing and experimentation -- Meri was curious. These thoughts are pushed to the back of her mind so that she does not end up silent while musing over her new toy. Alvina and Khitti quickly pull Meri back to the conversation at hand and another smile is flashed to the two women. "Someone has to put weapons into the hands of us adventurers. These things don't make themselves - we would be in a lot of trouble without people like Alvina. Busy making us bows. Plus raising children." Meri winks. "We'll make plenty of stories of baddies taken down with weapons made by Alvina." The blonde nod in a firm, matter-of-fact matter. Meri is silent again, but not because she is uncomfortable or unhappy. There is definitely a smile held on her slips, her silence is because her blue eyes are scanning the details of the bow. Again. There are vines, and leaf formations, with emeralds. "I think Cal will like my new toy too." Meri declares, to both women. The next comment is aimed for Khitti, "I guess since we are all the way out here, and you said we were going hunting, we should break in the new toy before we head back to warmer climates."

Alvina guffaws. “Autobiographies? No way, write letters like normal people.” She scoops up a dusting of snow and tosses it in Khitti’s direction. It all drifts down lightly between them. Ah well. “Well if you see Encara, tell her that her bow is almost ready too! Since you archery types like to hang out, it seems.” Her grin is easy, her body language relaxed. “I can restring it whenever, if you are in the area. Or I can just mail you some new strings.” She offers before turning back to Meri. The black cloak, she still had it. Meri goes on to mention they’ll slay a bunch of baddies and bring back stories. “My hero!” She’s more than happy to be on this side of the fighting, for now. “Cal hmm? Second time I’ve heard this fella’s name and I’ve yet to meet him.” This comment is offered in a sing song tone while she pushes forward onto her toes and then rocks back to her heels. “All the deets, next time.” She points at both women individually. “As much as I’d love to follow you around hunting, I’ve got a bit more work to do. Be safe, I’ll see you soon.” The Engineer approaches Meri, as she’s closer, to hug her (willing or otherwise, sorry) and then moves to do the same to Khitt (not sorry bb). One final wave to wrap up the goodbye. “Write me when you have a name at least!” She calls before shoving her gloved hands into her cloak pockets and moving into the warm Towers ahead.

Khitti smirked at Meri, “Well, we can go back to Sage if you’d really prefer. It doesn’t matter to me. I can’t imagine -why- you hate it so much here.” Oh, she knows. She really does. She snorted at Alvina’s attempt at a snowball, and she’s soon brought into a hug, and returned it, “Alright, alright. We’ll write. Or, you can probably catch me up here when I’m doing paperwork again.” She waved at the bard as she wandered off towards the towers, and shifted her attention back to Meri, leading her back to where they parked the Tikifhlee and talking on the way, “You know… I could always teach you how to skin your kills. Depending on what we manage to find, you could always cook the meat with a bit of Cal’s herbs. I know an amazing recipe for pot roast…” Because of course she does.

Meri || Not everyone gets a pass in the hug department, but Alvina was one of those exceptions. The hug is accepted and returned as best as Meri can manage without dropping the bow. "Let's meet up for dinner sometime soon and we'll talk all about Cal," she says to Alvina prior to departing with Khitti. On the way out, it is obvious Meri is mildly not pleased with the thought of skinning her own dinner. At first. That seems so....Well Meri does not even get that far with the thought process, for she soon resolves that if she is going to kill an animal then she may as well skin it and eat it. Better than letting it go to waste, that seems like a not good thing to do if one is going to hunt something. "Yeah, we could probably do that just fine. He has plenty of herbs to pick from to season something up." With one final way, the two women are off for a hunting session. Perhaps in Frostmaw, maybe Kelay -- they'll figure it out on the way.