Of History, Change, and an Archery Range Hares involved(in order of appearance): Cephas, Darklett Logged 4/10/05.

Look who's out of his dorm. Ceph has wandered down to the archery range, trying his paw at a new hobby once again. Thunk. An arrow embeds itself just outside the bullseye on the target, the runner smirking to himself while notching another arrow to his bow. His left ear is folded over his eye, hiding his bruised cheek as he concentrates upon the target before releasing it. The arrow makes another thunk, landed a few inches below his last one.

Darklett has also wandered down to the archery range, figuring he better get himself to be more well-rounded... Archery has never been on of his high points, so he'd better work on it, right? Right. He twists his face as he sees Cephas is here; he would like to embarrass himself in front of himself and only himself, but he'll have to live with Cephas seeing him. He stops by and picks up a bow, a quiver, and some arrows, walking up a few targets down from Cephas.

Another arrow gets buried deep into the target, the buck actually grinning to himself. Ceph's left ear perks slightly, glancing back over his shoulder to see Dark arriving. The runner gives a nod in the buck's direction, selecting an arrow to notch in his bow. "Evening sah."

Darklett is still apprehensive about starting, although he's got an arrow notched to the bow already. He gives a nod in greeting to Cephas, giving a test tug on the bowstring. "Evening, Cephas." He raises up the bow, leveling the arrow with the target and pulling back the string, eyes narrowing as he lets go... And the arrow falls short and far to the left of the target. Frown.

Cephas has his attention back on his own target, ear covering his eye again while he concentrates. Taking a deep breath, letting the arrow flying, embedding itself in the upper right portion of the target. The runner reaches for another arrow, but there's none left, so he moseys on over towards Dark, staying a few feet back from him. Ceph watches him take a shot, his other ear flopping as it misses. "Eh, ya be shooting fine after ya get the hang o' it. So, how are ya this evenin'?"

Darklett is already reaching for another arrow and notching it to the string, noticing the other hare's movements away from his spot. He pulls back the bowstring, lines up his shot, and fires, hitting the bullseye dead on! Only... the bullseye is on the target that's three to the right of the one he was aiming for. He winces, turning to Cephas. "I'm sure it'll come with practice. Me? I'm bored, thought I'd give archery -another- try." He shrugs, turning away and pulling out another arrow. "What about yourself?"

"Eh, just thought I'd try a new hobby. Seems boxin' ain't my sport so ta speak." Ceph watches as the arrow flies to another target, resting back against the wall. "Ya know, ya should relax when ya shoot. Don't think about it so much. It might help ya some." The runner mumbles, claws plucking his bowstring. "Oh, congrats on ya promotion too."

"Hah... Boxing's on my list of things to improve, as well." Darklett smiles, reaching back to place another arrow to the string, raising the bow up to level with his eye, pulling only slightly back on the bowstring before stopping. "Relax?" He nods slowly, pulling back on the bowstring again, heaving a deep sigh and visibly looking like he's trying to settle himself a little... He lines up his shot, the bowstring taut and pulled back just as far as it'll go... He lets the missile fly and it connects!!!! with the wall, roughly four arrow lengths above the target. "Ah, the promotion, heh. Thank you." He turns to Cephas. "At least it went straight that time."

Cephas is studying his bow, trying to fix the tension in the string, idly looking up as Dark shoot again. "See, doing better than ya were. Another trick I do is covering one eye. Course, it may not be helpful or nothin' but ya never know." Ceph reties his bow string, giving it a few plucks with a smile. "So, how do ya like being a Lieutenant?"

Darklett nods at the advice, taking another arrow of the few left in his quiver and placing it to the bowstring, pulling it back... He closes one eye, using the other to line up his shot, and pulls back the string, holding it still for a few seconds until the string snaps forward, sending the arrow towards the target. It actually hits this time, albeit on the outer edge, but still, it's an improvement. "Ah, it has its good times and bad times, just like anything else, I guess. On one paw, I do get some authority and respect, on the other paw, I've got paperwork, and... some pretty heavy responsibility when it comes to the hares under my watch."

Cephas grins to himself when the arrow hits the target, glad his advice was helping out the hare. "Yea. I personally like not having the responsibility of an officer. I'd probably muck somethin' up." Finally satisfied with his bow, Ceph moves off to collect a few arrows before going back to his old target. Notching up his bow, the runner's ear flops over his eye, the hare taking a deep breath before releasing it, ending up a few inches from the bullseye.

Darklett reaches back for another arrow, grabbing the end and immediately fixing it to his string, lining up his shot and pulling back, firing the arrow off, the projectile not embedding itself into the target that far away from the first, just slightly to the left of it, still on the outer edge of the target. He smiles as he matches his personal best. "Well, I can see why some beasts wouldn't want the responsibility. I just hope if the time comes, I can follow through with what I'm supposed to do."

"I'm sure ya will Dark. Ya seem like the perfect patroller, and they must have seen something special in ya when they made ya a lieutenant." Ceph notches up another arrow, taking aim and releasing it. The arrow hits the bottom left of the target, the runner reaching for another arrow while glancing over to Dark's target. "Well, ya seem to be improving on yer shootin'."

Darklett smirks. "Everybeast keeps telling me that, but it makes me wonder if they've -forgotten- the things that I've done." As he finishes this sentence, he lets go, hitting the target again, a little closer inward, but not much. "Yes, much better than how I -was.- Still, I much prefer my knives over anything else."

Cephas nods, plucking up another arrow. "What things have ya done? And everybeast makes mistakes. Tis part o' life." Instead of notching his bow, he runs his fingers over the feathered end, brow quirking slightly. "I'm not that great with knives, though I can handle a sword decently I suppose. I like long range weapons better."

Cephas nods, plucking up another arrow. "What things have ya done? And everybeast makes mistakes. Tis part o' life." Instead of notching his bow, he runs his fingers over the feathered end, brow quirking slightly. "I'm not that great with knives, though I can handle a sword decently I suppose. I like long range weapons better."

"What have I done?" Darklett laughs. "Ah... I don't know if I feel like getting into it right now, just know that I've done some very... unofficerlike things. It's all behind me, though." He lets loose another arrow, and it... misses. Erf. He reaches back, grabbing the last arrow in his quiver, and lining up a shot again. "Well, throwing knives is something you get good at through lots and lots of practice..."

"Oh. Well, I'm sure they were lookin at the good things ya've done." Ceph finally notches up his own arrow, lining up a shot before letting it fly. "True true, but the last few times I practiced with them, I ended up stabbing my footpaw. Course with boxin', I got my tail whipped." The arrow embeds in the bullseye again, the buck giving another rare smirk.

Darklett stares down the shaft of the arrow, lining up his shot as he knows it's his last one from that quiver. "Yeah, or the good sides of the bad things I've done." He lets loose, and the arrow hits... directly in the center of the bullseye. "...That'll never happen again," he muses with a smirk. "Oh, don't worry about boxing. That's something you're born with, I think. Either you're a boxer, or you're not. Knives, though, knives... If you're good enough, then they can be used by anybeast, I think." He takes out a knife, balancing it on his paw.

Cephas shrugs, looking over to Dark's target. "Good shot there. Oh, I suppose, but I'll stick with archery I think. Let the fighters deal with the knives and such." The runner grabs his second to last arrow, notching his bow before firing. It lands to the top right of the bullseye, making a dull thud. "So, when did ya start learnin' to use yer knives?"

Darklett smirks, leaning against the table that divides the hares from the targets. "Yeah, you runners can't get your legs injured, or else you're out of luck. You get good with that bow, and you'll be able to stick around a lot longer than me, probably." He wraps his paw around the handle of the throwing knife, eyeing the blade. "I'd say I really started to learn how to use them well around... six seasons."

Cephas nods, firing his last arrow with another bullseye. "Heh, to true. But, I'm skill with the bow is growing so I shouldn't have to worry to much." Out of arrows again, Ceph goes back to examining his bow, testing the tension again. "That's impressive then. I barely did anything when I was that age, except snitch pies from the bakers."

Darklett laughs softly, twirling the knife around his knuckles twice before grabbing the weapon and inspecting it again. "Well, I got bored pretty easy. And when you're that young, you gotta do what's best to entertain yourself... He throws up one knife and pulls out another quickly, tossing that one up in the air and catching the other one in his other paw. "It comes as natural after a while, though."

Cephas rests back against the wall, eyes staring down the bow. "That's true. So, what made ya decide to join the patrol then? Any family members in it or just an idle whim to join up?" He looks up, watching Dark with his knives, ear flopping over again.

Darklett twirls the knives both in his paws, looking down at both of them in turn, his eyes moving back and forth. "Heard about it, and I thought it was a good idea. Felt strongly about it enough to make sure it was my life, heh." He throws one knife up, letting it arch through the air, reaching down with that paw to grab another knife, simultaneously tossing the other knife up in the air, catching the first knife and throwing the third, falling into a rhythm and beginning to juggle the knives. "What about you?"

Cephas shrugs, eyes fixated on the juggling knives, though his fingers still tug at the bowstring. "I wanted a new life since the old one wasn't working. I got shunned from my village, and disowned by my family so I thought I'd try out the patrol. I've liked it so far."

Darklett frowns, catching one knife in his paw and jerking his other paw to catch the next knife headed for that one, tossing it up in the air and catching the other, juggling two knives with just one paw while the other rests on his hip. "Huh, well, depending on what you did, that's not a very family thing to do. The patrol's your family, now, I guess."

Cephas sighs, sitting down on the floor, resting his bow across his lap. "Well, I didn't turn out like my pa wanted, and I refused to marry someone. That sort of ruined all his plans for our village to merge with another." The runner smirks at the one pawed juggling, scratching his neck. "Ya awful good with those things y'know."

The lieutenant frowns, his eartips folding over a little, moving his paw off his hip and working the third knife back into the rotation, looking up at the knives for a few seconds until confident of the rhythm, and looking back to Cephas. "That's... not right at all." His frown breaks as he makes the knives go a little higher than they were before. "Well, hopefully I'm good with these things, or else the days and days of practice would be all for nothing... And I'd be pretty much left defenseless on the battlefield, too."

"Aye, but I've never seen anyone who could juggle em before. Rather impressive that is." Ceph shrugs upon his comment, untying the string, pulling out another from his pocket. "Eh, suppose it was. But, ya either went with the village's head or ya got tossed out."

"I don't know, anybeast can juggle..." Darklett looks to Cephas with a humble smirk. "What takes practice is what comes after the juggling." The hare turns to the targets, his eyes moving up to the blades in the air again, sending them into higher arcs.

Cephas shrugs, not looking to sure. "Eh, I don't think everybeast could juggle. I'd definitely stab my footpaw again." He cants his head, ears flicking up. "What exactly comes after the juggling then?"

Darklett glances up at the knives again, then to the targets. Well, they're kinda far away... "Heh..." He then gives the knives one last high toss in the air, the one in his paw sent flying towards the target in a high arch, hurtling and somersaulting through the air and hitting a place just to the left and down from the bullseye, the next knife to hit his paw hurling much in the same fashion to a spot just above the bullseye, and the third knife is launched towards the target, placing itself just a hair off the center. He blinks and smiles in satisfaction, like he had even surprised himself there.

Cephas eyes widen, jaw dropping a fraction of an inch. "Wow. That's..impressive Dark. I wouldn't be able to do that in a thousand seasons. Ya got a great skill there." Ceph returns to re-stringing his bow, ears flopping back on his head.

Darklett stares at the target with a little grin on his face. "I have to admit, that was pretty good, even for me... Those targets are a lot farther away than what I'm used to... Thanks." A little stunned, he goes to retrieve the knives, looking at his paws. "Huh... I'm gettin' better."

Cephas nods, pushing himself up, moving to set his bow back with the others. "Aye, ya are. That's great range for knives isn't it? I mean for throwing that is."

Darklett nods. "I think it is... Yeah, I'm pretty sure it is." He tugs the knives out of the target once he reaches them, and puts them back in his belt. "I guess I'm just lucky today, heh..." He walks back towards Cephas, rolling his shoulders in a shrug.

Cephas smirks, rubbing his neck, glancing off towards the door. "Yea, seems ya are. Well, hate to run but I was going to go for a late night run before turning in."

Darklett nods. "Ahh. I'll see you, then, Cephas. Usually I go running in the mornings, though, heh." He makes as if he's gonna follow Cephas. "Well, I figure I better get some work done, too."

Cephas nods, walking off towards the door. "I'm sure ya will Dark. And its cooler at night to run. Plus great view of the stars." Giving a departing nod, the runner slips out and jogs off down the hall.