Hedgesville, West Virginia
Harbinger Academy
Friday, August 23, 1996
12:21 PM

Clutching the Shinlu bow in one hand and a quiver of arrows in the other, Jennie stood outside the gym in what she could tell was an archery range with the red and white targets that lined the opposite side of where she stood. She heard a voice behind her as she turned to see Diver walking outside with his bow and quiver.
"Alright, Jennie, what are you naming your weapon?" Diver asked as Jennie stared at him with indecision.
"Do I have to name it?" she asked, staring at the bow. She flipped the weapon back and forth in her hand then looked to boy who only stared back with a bland and dulled expression.
"Tradition says you do," Diver replied.
"How about Sky Stalker?" she asked as she gazed at the bow once more. "It shoots arrows into..."
"I don't need a reason why," he said with clear displeasure. "Alright, you said earlier that you did archery before?"
"When I was a little kid," Jennie replied, "but that doesn't mean I know how still."
“Or that you did it right,” he muttered under his breath.
“What?” she questioned.
"Well, for starters, let's get you into position," Diver remarked. "Show me how you used to stand." He crossed his arms over his chest and stood watching with stern eyes.
Placing her left foot out while her right stepped backward, she held the bow with her left hand while drawing back with the right hand. She looked over her shoulder to Diver who stared at her with a blank expression.
"Well?" she asked.
"Do you see anything wrong with this picture?" he asked as he scratched at the back of his neck. "You're a beginning archer, so you shouldn't be in such a ridiculous stance. You're only going to hurt yourself with your legs like that. You should have your feet shoulder-length apart. Not like you're trying to run for some track race."
Jennie mimicked what Diver did and waited for him to continue his critique of her. "Now what?" she asked.
"Notch your arrow," he replied.
Reaching behind her to one of the arrows in the quiver, she pulled it out and fumbled with notching it. With a curse from herself and a sigh from Diver, she got it placed on the bowstring. She looked to Diver who gave her another blank expression.
"Draw," he said softly. With what he said, Jennie obeyed. "Raise the bow. Focus, steady yourself, steady the bow, and aim."
It was then that she released the arrow while the bowstring scraped across her arm, leaving a large, reddish welt. "Ow," she groaned as she dropped the bow and rubbed at the sore.
"Oh, yeah, forgot to mention that," Diver sarcastically mumbled.