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Post by wildfire on May 27, 2016 6:49:13 GMT
To be fair, Ordric had never said there was something superior about a firearm over the classic bow and arrow. On the other hand, the stern expression that had crossed Artemis' face when he'd offhandedly commented that he felt more comfortable with one in his hands than the other. It was supposed to be an off-day at the range, not get icy looks from an Olympian he happened to bump into today. "Artemis, you really don't need to --"But it was too late, and so here he was with a rental bow in his hands, a fraying armguard on his left arm, and a determined Olympian in the lane over. "I told you I already understand what you meant..."artemis
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Post by artemis on May 27, 2016 6:57:37 GMT
Artemis took no offense if some men were simply more mediocre than she was. In fact, she was more likely to arrow a man in the brains if he claimed that he was better than her. In fact, she did not meet him with any disapproval. Her face just happened to look like that, and Ordric would also not be the first to cry at her resting neutral face. Still. She was curious about his skills. "Men should go first."
It was an excuse. In reality, most people lost all confidence after seeing what Artemis could do with a bow. And then she will have lost her chance. wildfire
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Post by wildfire on May 27, 2016 7:09:25 GMT
A neutral face was an indiscernible one. Ordric could not help but feel as though she was scrutinizing him, like a cat presented with a bowl of dry food pellets and a bowl of wet chicken-based food. Paired with that statement, he can't really turn that down. "If you insist."He draws the first arrow from the standing quiver, nocks it gingerly to the bow, fitting the back of the arrow against the bowstring. He draws it back, straightens his back, arm straight, eye patch on because in this particular situation, having it off would be cheating. The arrow whizzes through the air, hitting the blue 6 ring 20 degrees above the target's radius. Ordric lowers the bow back to his side. "Mm, better luck next time I suppose."artemis (I just remembered you fit the back of the arrow to the drawstring and was so embarrassed that I had to correct myself via mobile)
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Post by artemis on May 27, 2016 7:25:44 GMT
"You could have spent more time pretending to aim." She tells him accusingly, but not for the reasons he probably thinks. Men fell over themselves for the chance to win her favor, and he throws it away. Well, this isn't Greece - and her name doesn't have the same weight that it used to. It's difficult to remember that when she's been apart from humans for so long. Sometimes, she still thinks that they're going to pour their sewage all over the city streets. And it wasn't that long ago that humans stopped bleeding people out whenever they got sick. "I just hope that you regain your skills if a bear ever wanders into this city." Her eyes twinkle like a prophecy. wildfire
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May 27, 2016 16:42:00 GMT
Post by wildfire on May 27, 2016 16:42:00 GMT
He should have known that trying to pull a fast one over an Olympian who spent tens of thousands of years with a bow in hand was not a very good idea. He responds with a sheepish smile and, "I'll bear that in mind."Of course, striking the bear down with a bow and arrow would never have been the plan. Catching the creature in a time warp and slowing it enough so that someone strong enough could haul it away was cleaner and probably more P.R.-worthy for the Initiative. There was always the other option of increasing the likelihood of the bear losing interest in the city to turn back to whence it came too. Bullets existed too, but it was a last resort and Ordric didn't typically carry one around with him anyways. He balances his recurve bow on its stand and nods at Artemis. "I've done my share."After all, it wasn't every day that you had a front row seat to observing a master of archery. artemis
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May 27, 2016 20:13:26 GMT
Post by artemis on May 27, 2016 20:13:26 GMT
"If you need." Although she doesn't see the point. Her name is practically synonymous with competence. Proving themselves is the hobby of men. There's no pause when Artemis shoots an arrow. She finishes the entire action in one singular movement with no lost time in between, as if she were merely hitting a switch. She's still looking in the direction of the target because she's not a showoff. Even so, she's long forgotten what it means to hesitate, what it means to straighten out the nonexistent errors in her form. The arrow lodges itself next to Wildfire's arrow. wildfire
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May 27, 2016 21:28:32 GMT
Post by wildfire on May 27, 2016 21:28:32 GMT
This is what an expert looks like. Ordric arches a brow as Artemis' arrow lodges itself beside his. "Not bad," he says, which is a complete understatement. One presumes that a ten-thousand-year-old Olympian would have had plenty of time to practice. Still, experts were formed out of nurtured talent and not out of thin air, no mater how hard one tried. "Even after all those years with bow in hand, you still find yourself at an archery range?"Surely, practicing something as natural as breathing would eventually become tedious. artemis
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May 27, 2016 21:41:10 GMT
Post by artemis on May 27, 2016 21:41:10 GMT
Truth be told, running targets weren't much fun either. "Some people take walks during their downtime. I come here." If she got bored as easily as Ares did, then she'd be the master of all martial combat. After a moment, she adds: "I dabbled in the spear for a time." Which...honestly, is just archery without a bow. And then, perhaps a tad unnecessarily: "Your guns are interesting, if tedious."wildfire
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May 27, 2016 21:55:44 GMT
Post by wildfire on May 27, 2016 21:55:44 GMT
"Fair enough." Ordric didn't take walks. If anything, he was a napper. With that much time on one's hands, there was probably plenty to do. Granted, he could artificially stretch time but that was different territory. On the other hand, he wasn't sure what he would do with that kind of a lifespan. "Mine?" Only after those words leave his mouth does he realize that Artemis is likely referring to humanity as a whole. "You've handled a bow all your life. Is there a need to know how to use one?"artemis
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May 27, 2016 22:15:09 GMT
Post by artemis on May 27, 2016 22:15:09 GMT
"It's the most popular weapon in the present day." She points out. "Hunters, assassins, soldiers, burglars, the police... no one is without one." Artemis will admit that it had a lot more piercing strength than a bow handled by humans. She's used one herself back when she had to blend in the humans, but she had little love for one. It didn't feel like a part of her like a bow did. It didn't feel like a part of her arm. "There's even a national conversation about whether guns or humans are to blame for the deaths of children." She mentions mildly. Artemis didn't need to be an aficondo for the news to know about it. "The National Rifle Association is a significant political force in your government."
That's the strangest thing about the gun: the way that it put more distance between the killer and the killed. Once upon a time, hunters were proud of their craft. It wasn't so coldly efficient. People would build altars and sacrifice their animals to Artemis, and she would evaluate them based on the cleanliess of the kill. Now only forensic investigators cared about something like that. wildfire
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Post by wildfire on May 28, 2016 5:05:34 GMT
"Probably both," Ordric says in response to Artemis' comment about the deaths of children. "Whether it's one or the other isn't for me to decide."There is a reason why he is not in politics. And that's how it's always been. One might consider it dull to simply follow orders and have their fate laid bare before them, but Ordric preferred it. After all, it was less of a headache for him, and he'd already accepted long ago that he would be means to an end. artemis
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Post by artemis on May 28, 2016 5:50:05 GMT
She shrugs. The moral implications didn't trouble her either. Though Wildfire is strange for a human. She's found that they were far more opinionated than that. "What's your gun to you?" Artemis shoots another arrow next to the first, choosing to ignore the target colors entirely. Targets are so relative when the hunter knows that she will not miss. Artemis is using regular arrows this time; they're louder than she's used to. "A liability?" Fwup. "A necessity?" Fwup. "A job?" Fwup. "A lifestyle?" Fwup.She notches her last arrow. At least, the last arrow before she has to purchase more rentals from the front desk. wildfire
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Post by wildfire on May 28, 2016 6:10:26 GMT
It's an interesting question. He goes through each one of Artemis' options. It was far from a liability, but not exactly a necessity. There were other things that could get the job done. And speaking of jobs, it was difficult to say, and "lifestyle" was a difficult one because he didn't think he really had one. "A preference, I suppose." Ordric replies. "It's cleaner for me. Knives are messy and bows aren't exactly inconspicuous." Sometimes being detached from the targets wasn't always a bad thing. "Personal" kills would slow him down. He glances at the empty quiver in Artemis' lane. "How many of those do you burn through during a single session?"artemis
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Post by artemis on May 28, 2016 6:18:54 GMT
Cleaner. She purses her lips. As if death was ever clean, as if it wasn't something to be respected. Artemis holds up a hundred dollar bill. "I give them one of these, and the man seems content to let me shoot as many as I like."She admittedly didn't grasp the concept of paper money so well, but at least the local economy is making a killing from it. wildfire
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May 28, 2016 16:57:37 GMT
Post by wildfire on May 28, 2016 16:57:37 GMT
Ordric raises a brow as Artemis reveals a hundred dollar bill. "That's... well, I suppose it works," he comments. On the other hand, he gets the feeling as though the manager of the facility might actually be losing money depending on how many arrows Artemis used. "You should apply for a membership here, if you haven't already."And then, out of curiosity, he adds, "Recurve or compound?"artemis
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