Trade Talk (D9 EA Expecting, But Open)

[Ninube]

Ninube nods and takes the bow and arrow. She fires at a tree. She hits a tree. Not the tree she was aiming for, but it was a tree. That should count as a victory.

"I felt the sting." She would not shake away the pain. She was not a pansy. "Though it went just a little more right than I wanted it to go."

[Nozomi]

"You're trying to aim. You want to use a quicker motion. Level the bow right. Get used to its range and fire as quick as thought. It will get so automatic you will eventually find it hits whatever it is you intend without staring closely," she said, nodding as she offered the arrow. "The strain never does much good with aiming. Just wastes precious time."

[Ninube]

Ninube nods and tries again without trying to aim. The arrow went not quite as wide. "Well, that was better. So, focus more on speed than precision, right?"

[Nozomi]

"Couple of the guys swore if they took the time, they could pin-point the perfect spot to core an apple with their arrow. Never saw a one of them hit that target, and evry time they were rubbing their arm for a week from trying." She snorted. "Aiming sounds great for sniping, but the arm strength and endurance... no, quick, center of the body. Over and over again until there's no thought." Another arrow offered.

"Heard some officious fool say it was about the arrow knowing the way. It's simple posture. Aim from the body, you'll hit the target. Save yourself time and headache."

[Ninube]

Ninube nods and attempts again with several arrows right after another. Many go wide. Though if she was not using the strips, it might look fairly decent for someone who had never really held a bow before.

[Nozomi]

Phi was probably also using the arrows here that were more fit for training than combat. They had to have extra fletched after all, but those weren't going to have the balance of a properly fitted one. She nodded as each shot out, giving a directive every time. She wasn't big on mystical discussion of the bow. To her, it was all practical. Aiming only made sense for sniping and an arrow didn't do enough damage to justify that effort. It was to whittle the enemy down at range and hunt game.

As they neared the end of the quiver, she grunted and went out to collect some, making sure she wasn't ready to fire again. A few would still be good for another shot. "The best thing with a bow, doing it over and over again day after day. Sounds obvious, but sometimes repetition really is the key. The more you're wasting time thinking, the harder it is to actually fire."

[Ninube]

She took Phi's directives as well as she could. Some had to be repeated a time or two. And while she didn't know there was some mystical talk about the bow, she would have been glad that Phi skipped it if she did know. In these matters, Ninube was a practical woman.

When Phi went to collect, Ninube stopped and helped. "So, kind of go into a meditative type state of mind?"

[Nozomi]

"Uhhhhhhhhh," and she sort of looked at her for a moment before laughing and shaking her head. "I've only ever tried meditating once or twice. I'm awful at it. Maybe I should ask the little teacher for lessons. Do you think you can meditate with the bow? That'd be odd." The irony of the fact that one day in history the bow might be one of the greatest tools of the monastic orders was definitely lost on her in this moment. She couldn't' see how you would do it in the slightest.

[Ninube]

"Well, I didn't mean fully meditate - though Wu did say repetitive action helps" She paused before continuing, "I meant more the idea of clear your mind."

[Nozomi]

"Oh, is that part of meditating? That might explain why I have trouble. I can never stop thinking at times like that." A shake of the head. "I'm usually listening for one sound or another. Plotting things, planning them. But when I'm not thinking it's easier to fire, yes. Too much thought confuses the shot."

[Ninube]

Ninube chuckles. "That's what I told Wu when he was teaching me to meditate." She hands the arrows she collected back to Phi. "It did seem to help when I was firing."

[Nozomi]

"It helps a lot if you only have to shut your mind up for a few seconds, not for an hour. So, that is maybe the trick. One breath, in out, fire. Don't think, just shoot. It'll be easier that way. Do it for enough days in a row, and you'll start feeling natural at doing it. Muscle memory and all." It was how she'd trained most things, actually. Get the body to remember how to do things. Much faster reflexes.

[Ninube]

"Yeah. That's how I learned most things. I'll have to get own bow once I get back to Spider lands." She looked at the bow for a moment and then back to Phi. "Should I go again or do you want your turn?"

[Nozomi]

She laughed a little. "I could take a shot if you want," she said, reaching for the bow. "You can watch how it's done when someone's had time with it, though I'm not half as good as I am with the tonfa. Those are old friends. Been with me since I was a kid." She drew and knocked as she talked, almost casual, not paying attention entirely and just let loose. It was a quick, fluid, swift motion. Thoughtless, like she'd said.

"Some of the only things I took from home actually."