Midday Shoot (OTA)

[bornanarcher]

It was a little awkward being here when she should be a baby, but she was coming to deal with it. She got that from her parents. Scarlet was always able to put up with anything and everything which tackled her no matter how strange it was. Besides, spending this long in the village did make a person more than use to every strange thing it went

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[glaurmir]

Glaurmir was taking a little time to re-familiarize himself with the woods. He'd need to go hunting for food and there were more people out here than he remembered there being. He'd left his fine cloak off, not needing it in the slightest and his current clothing was rather more grand than most were used to anyway.

He was used to watching archers practice, including women. The young lady shooting at trees was quite skilled and he watched until she was done shooting.

"Very well done, my lady. You could go for a shieldmaiden back home."

[bornanarcher]

"Shieldmaiden?" she asked curiously. It sounded like a pretty amazing thing to be but she hoped that what she thought and imagined was as interesting as the truth. After all, it wasn't rare for it to be the other way. She walked to the tree to get her arrows, putting them all back into the quiver.

"I am assuming from what you said it's a good thing?" Unless he was being sarcastic which she did doubt.

[glaurmir]

"It is a very good thing. My Lady Mother* was a shieldmaiden. She cannot be in the unit now because she has other duties. Captain Richard** trains them. It's a new unit, but it grows stronger all the time once women begin to see what the shieldmaidens do." He smiled to think on it.

"It helps when the Lady of Ithilien was herself a shieldmaiden, and can ride and use a sword and shoot. With her skills and her valour during the war, and the queen being trained in martial skills as well, no one can say that women do not know how to fight. Well, once they're taught they know, just like a man."

*He calls Glaurnaneth 'mother' and Eowyn 'lady mother'.
**Richard Riddick. From the island--the other game Faramir was in. He makes his way to Middle-earth eventually.

[bornanarcher]

"Some women don't need trained." Her mother had taught herself a few things, and now past some of the skills onto her. And when it came to archery that came just as naturally as breathing for Scarlet. Nothing could be simpler than aiming a bow and letting it fly. Of course, her father had always helped and kept an eye on her but she still had a slightly natural ability.

"I could be a shieldmaiden."

[glaurmir]

"Well, practice if not training. No one starts out as good as they can be." Not to his knowledge. He nodded.

"You could. So far there are only shieldmaidens in Rohan, like there have always been, and in Ithilien in Gondor. My father says that there may be more in time, once people see how useful they are." It took people time to get used to new ideas--women fighting.

"Where do you come from?" Oh. "And pardon me, I am Glaurmir, son of Faramir."

[bornanarcher]

"People can only get better yes. Practice is definitely needed." It was what she was doing now really though she didn't see it as practice. She saw it as enjoying herself and taking some time out to relax. Yes, this was relaxing for her.

"I was born here actually. I'm Scarlet, nice to meet you."

[glaurmir]

"I was born here too, son of Faramir and Glaurnaneth. Then I went home with my mother to her world and a few years later we both went to father's. I think that's where we're going to stay." He liked it there and there was important work.

"Have you always lived here? Who are your parents?" He looked at the ground. "Not that I'm likely to know them. People tell me I'm curious like my father was. And still is."

[bornanarcher]

"Yes, I've never left. Which is quite annoying since I've never had the chance to see Nottingham, my parents speak so fondly of it." She gave him a smile though. Truthfully, in the back of her mind, the name of his father was ringing some sort of bell. She just wasn't sure why.

"Robin and Marian of Locksley." Well her mother technically wasn't of Locksley, given they married here, but that was the easier way to do this.

[glaurmir]

"I've not met your parents, but I've heard of them." Of course, with her using the bow like that. "Father says that Robin is the finest mortal archer he's ever seen."

At one point, his father had said someone jokingly called him Robin Hood, but he didn't know who it was at the time.

"Maybe you can go to the holosuite. There's a program in there of Minas Tirith--that's the capitol city of Gondor. Mother saw that years before we went to Middle-earth."

[bornanarcher]

"And I am sure I know your father's name. But yes, my father is a very skilled archer."

And she was proud of him, had no reason not to be. She took it from him and liked to show off just as much as him with her skills.

"What is it like?" she asked curiously.

[glaurmir]

"What's Minas Tirith like?" Glaurmir smiled. "It's all white marble, cut from the side of the mountain. There are seven levels, spiraling up to the citadel at the top."

He closed his eyes a moment, remembering.

"You can see really far from the courtyard on the seventh level, and it's amazing to fly off of the keel." Oops. "That is, there's a part of the seventh level like a ship's keel because each level is a little smaller than the one below--the keel goes out to the edge, almost."

[bornanarcher]

Her eyes stayed on him as he explained and a soft smile raised her lips as she listened. She could hear the fondness in his words and it made her all the more eager to see it. Surely a place like that must be so beautiful? Yes she understood some may talk of their home like that just because it's there home but she sensed it wasn't like that here.

"Sounds wonderful."

[glaurmir]

"It is. Though I spend more time in Ithilien, which is just being re-built. No one lived there for a long time because it wasn't safe. Now it is and everything is green and fertile." He liked the outdoors.

"I wish you could tell me about your home. That was always the best part of the village--meeting different kinds of people."

[bornanarcher]

"Mother always speaks of home fondly. Well, their home. Here is my home I've not known anything else." If she had ever been to Nottingham though she would have been able to tell more.

"I suppose I cannot complain though."

[glaurmir]

"I would not complain either, the village is a good place."

Glaurmir stood quietly for a moment.

"I could leave and let you get back to practicing. I didn't mean to interrupt." Scarlet seemed nice and obviously her parents were from a world more like his than the modern places. Still, it was rude to intrude.

He's almost 20 in human years. Very young for a dragon.

[bornanarcher]

'It is."

She ran her finger over the curve of her bow a little, just the top part, and looked up as he spoke.

"You're not interrupting." She didn't mind really, the village had taught her that speaking to new people was part of being here.