Valiance

Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty-Three

Sephy began at the shooting range like Alec had suggested. She took up the sheath of arrows and slung it over her shoulder. Taking one, she lined the arrow up in the bowstring and strung it up, aiming for the black on the bull'seye board. The head of her arrow landed on one of the outer rings of the board and Sephy cursed.

“Well, there's nothing wrong with your arm.” She sighed and looked at Clint, flatly.

“What do you mean?” She asked him. Shrugging, he stepped into her range and flicked the arrow she had sent. It wobbled but did not look like it was going to fall out of the board.

“You sent this through the back of the board.” Clint told her, standing the twenty metres distance.

“So? I still didn't hit my target.” She muttered as he walked back to her.

“You hit your target, just not the centre. If you shot that arrow at anyone, it would go straight through them, no matter what part of them you hit.”

“I still need to hit them, though.” Clint gave her a skeptical glance before relaxing on the seat.

“Try it again. With more practice, you'll get better.” He assured her. Sephy rolled her eyes and pulled another arrow onto her bow. She let out a breath and let the arrow glide out of her fingers. Again, the head of the arrow was sent through the back of the board, off the rings completely, barely making it onto the white part of it. She grunted and tried again. Still missing, she shot another seven arrows until all of the arrows were drained from the sheath.

“You seem to be getting worse.” Clint teases, laughing. She shot him a dirty glare and dropped the bow and sheath to the side.

“I'm going to the paramedical station.” She muttereds and stalkeds off, leaving him laughing alone. Two attendants tended this station, the man looked bored while his collegue folded bandages. When Sephy stopped infront of them, they looked up at her, standing quickly.

“Hi! Eh..Persephone, right?” The man extended his hand to shake hers. She shook his and sat on the bench.

“Yeah, that's me.” She examined the little equipment they had at their station.

“I'm Ciaran.” He told her. She furrowed her eyes for a moment. “There is no meaning for my name.” He didn't seem to be distraught about the subject, he was nonchalant, even.

“I'm Susan.” Her name means Lily, Sephy noted as she shook her hand. Sephy scratched the side of her head, her hair still tied back while the ends are stained from Gage's blood. Susan watcheds Sephy, regarding her hair and the splashes of red on her neck and face.

“I'm Persephone.” Sephy said. “Why don't you have more equipment? There's not a lot you can teach people with a few bandages and disinfectant.” Ciaran and Susan both exchanged shrugs of regret and looked like they had been thinking the same.

“The Ruler wants us to teach you all we can with these things.” Ciaran told her, turning back. He had fair hair, like Susan's and they both had a set of green eyes. They looked like twins. There wasn't much that they could teach her that she didn't already know. She knew all the basics and had hoped to learn a little more.

“Oh, right. Well I should probably get going, I know most of these things.” She nodded to the two of them.

“Oh, wait!” She spun around when Susan called out to her. She showed Sephy a bandage that was white with a blue strip and then a green jacket next to a blue one. Sephy waited for her to continue.

“These bandages are extremly flammable, and this jacket,” Susan motioned to the green one, “is like a flask. It keeps in all your body heat, unlike the blue ones.” Ciaran and Susan exchanged wary stares before looking at Sephy intently.