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[unit_67]

[Hello, Holloway's! Lily here with her second video post. Videos are a million times easier to do than text posts! Lily can't write for shit. That much is obvious.

Anyway, Lily is outside. Grass and flowers and topiary sculptures, oh my! She looks pretty happy. There is some intense nature going on in the background, being beautiful and all.Hi, it

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[b100b100dbeast]

[An advantage of writing is that Equius can properly draw out his little bows and arrows.]

D --> Why would you invest so much admiration in such f001ish little sprouts
D --> Perhaps if plant life actually did anything notable, they would be acknowledged

[b100b100dbeast]

Alright!

[There's an unfamiliarly warm smile on his face as he carries her bow and the arrows with him, watching as she carries the target.]

[unit_67]

[Lily hauls the target to the training ground and sets it up on one end. Wow, this thing is big. That's kind of insulting. Maybe there's smaller ones back in the armory? Whatever. Lily's pretty rusty when it comes to bows and arrows, so maybe a big target is good.

(Not to mention Equius has never actually held a functional bow. Ever.)

She jogs to the other end of the training ground. It seems like a pretty comfortable distance.]

Do you wanna go first, or should I?

[b100b100dbeast]

I can, if you'd like. I suppose I ought to get back into the flow of things. I'll be sure not to make your skills look too bad in comparison...

[Sweat starts to gather on the troll's forehead. He grasps the bow in one hand, grabbing an arrow with the other. Alright. No breaking yet...]

I...may be a bit rusty...

[He narrows his eyes. Jeez that target is far off... Alright, Equius. Stand your ground. Position the arrow... Aim... Pull back and-

POING

...

Where'd it go? Did he really launch it that far? The troll shades his eyes with his hand, squinting to see where it might have landed. Not seeing that it's fallen right by his feet.]

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[Silence.

Lily lets him look for a second before she picks up the arrow and shows it to him.]

You must be really rusty.

[b100b100dbeast]

I still do not see-...

[Oh. Oh how mortifying.]

I-...Oh fiddlesticks...

[He reaches out to grab the arrow, the look of humiliation clear on his face.]

Pardon my language. I've never really fired...an arrow.

[unit_67]

Why didn't you just tell me that?

[She gives him back the arrow, confused. What's the big deal? Why's he all flustered? ... Is fiddlesticks even a swear word?

Whatever. Lily smiles.]

I can teach you if you want. I mean, it's been forever since I've done this, but I might still remember.

[b100b100dbeast]

Who would invest so much interest in archery, yet be so... inept at it? It is shameful of me.

[He takes the arrow, lowering the bow. His ego's a bit bruised, right now.]

Do you think so? Well, if you'd like to. At least until I catch onto it on my own.

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It's not shameful. You're just not good at it. [It's sad she doesn't realize how offensive that is.] I can teach you what I know and you'll be fine! Practice makes perfect and all that.

[Lily strings up her own arrow. Muscle memory does most of the work. Lily aims... Adjusts... Aims... Adjusts... Adjusts a little more...

Twang!

Second circle from the center. Lily lowers her bow, disappointed she didn't gt a bullseye. Well, like she said, practice makes perfect.]

See, it's not that hard.

[b100b100dbeast]

Not good at it... Very well. I hope to catch on soon.

[He silently watches in awe as she so graciously holds the bow, seeming to aim with the precision of a true Archeradicator. Before he can even follow the arrow with his eyes, it hits it's target almost flawlessly.]

I see... Huh... Well, you are very good at this.

[unit_67]

Ahhhh, not really. I'm not a pro or anything. One of my brothers, he was so good, he got a bullseye almost every -

[Here is where Lily remembers all of her siblings are dead.

... Uh, okay, hey. [Lily strings up another arrow.] See what I'm doing? How I'm holding the arrow? Try it. Holding the arrow right is the most important part. If you hold it wrong you'll just drop it.

[b100b100dbeast]

Come now. Give yourself credit where it is due. You are one of the best archers I have seen. Though I have not seen many... Brothers? What are brothers. Are those those sibling things you spoke of?

[He sees that pause and can feel that something is on her mind, but doesn't push any further.]

Yes. Just like that, then?

[Equius strings his own arrow up again... Standing a bit closer. To better observe how she's holding the bow of course, NO OTHER REASON.]

Kind of like this?

[unit_67]

[Lily is going to casually ignore that praise, though inside she's like "oh fuck yes!".]

Yeah. Wait, no. Wait - yeah, no. Move your fingers like this. [Lily shows him. I don't know jack shit about archery so I'm just going to be as vague as I can.] Brothers are male siblings. Boys. Girl siblings are called sisters. Don't trolls have families? Or is it just you and your, uh... lusus, is that what it's called?

[b100b100dbeast]

[There's a faint grunt of disappointment when it turns out he's failing at this, though it's gone by the time she shows him how to position his hands correctly. (And thank god, neither do I and I was worried you were some ACTUAL archer-type-person)]

Oh... And no, we don't really have any need for families. We have castes? Though I do not think they are the same thing. More like a ranking system. It was just me and Aruthor, my lusus. He was a fantastic butler, though I never got the chance to tell him so.

[unit_67]

Good, yeah. Don't squeeze the arrow, though, it's unnecessary. You have to be super careful with how your arms are positioned. If you're not, the string could hit you, and it really stings.

[GOD NO but I'm a pro at Googling.

What's a butler? No, Lily drops that question in favor of this one.]

How does the ranking system work?

[b100b100dbeast]

Hrmgh. This is more complicated than it has appeared.

[All this relaxing and not straining of the muscles has Equius on edge. He's not used to not being in a constant state of FLEX.]

Alright I think I've-

[PWANG-

The arrow actually makes it through the air, missing the target completely but at least it's left the bow!]

Somewhat got it. The caste system relies heavily on the hemospectrum. The color of our blood determines our social status. From violent to eh...

red. My blood is second only to the grand highblood in terms of nobility. There are some sea dwellers with high class blood, but we're always at odds with them and it's best if I avoid them all together.