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Beliefs? He was uncertain what his beliefs were now. Meeting Robyn was the start of a path he knew he was willing to attempt but was unsure of the ending. What would someone else do in his position?
"Hold the bow like this, and then pull back the string and shoot." Altair let the arrow fly and was rewarded with a soft thud of the arrow biting into dirt. His uncle shook his head disapprovingly and notched an arrow into his own bow.
The frame of it was a stained black and made from black locust wood, or so his uncle had told him. Altair wasn't quite sure what difference the wood made, but he absorbed the information he was given.
"Watch again. You need to make sure you keep your arm steady and pull back far enough for the force required with the distance." Quickly aiming for the distance target, Jeremiah let the arrow loose and watched with satisfaction as it plunged into the bull’s-eye. Altair felt his face turn red that he was bested repeatedly, and the target wasn't even that far away.
"Altair!" The young boy looked over his shoulder to see Robyn running to them. She explained how she had been watching them and wanted to give it a try. Jeremiah chuckled at the thought of a young girl trying to shoot a bow, but handed it to her at her determined gaze. The taunt string was hard for her to pull back, but she managed well enough and both males watched in astonishment as the arrow whistled through the air and hit the target.
Jeremiah slapped Altair on the back and laughed that he had just been beat by a girl younger than himself. "Good thing your father wasn't out here! I have to admit though, the look on his face would have been memorable." Altair felt embarrassment, pride, and envy all in one. While he was proud Robyn had managed to pull off that shot, he also felt ashamed it wasn't him who had done it and impressed her with it. The thought was foolish though, and he decided he would have Jeremiah train him later on.
Jeremiah was an honest man and stout warrior. Altair would often look up to him when he was dealing with uncertain choices, and had wished Jeremiah would trade places with his father. Ruben Swizec was a caring man in his own way, but the majority of the time he would only look out for the family as a whole rather then individuals within it. If marrying Altair to Vivian Jasper would help the Swizec family regardless of if his son approved of the idea, he would set it into motion.
He offered Robyn a faint smile at her words and then turned his gaze ahead.
[ 08-05-2006, 09:48 PM: Message edited by: Deiter Leafblade ]
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