Darklin Academy --- All Girls' School

[Sullen Sweet Juliet]

The bow in Jennifer's hands creaked slightly as she drew the string back to her chin, sighting along the arrow resting on the string. A hushed silence fell over the range as the blonde stood perfectly still, barely even breathing. The bow creaked again as she drew back another quarter inch, her dark brown eyes narrowing as she calculated the distance between herself and the target down the range.

The string snapped back without a sound, the arrow whistling down the range and thudding into the center of the target. The blonde slowly lowered the bow with a satisfied smile, waving away the applause as she pulled another arrow from the quiver at her feet. She set this one to the string as well, drawing back and letting fly with hardly a pause, smiling again as it, too, thudded into the center of the target, nearly splitting the shaft of her first arrow.

The applause was louder this time as she sketched a short bow and backed off, laying the bow on a bench beside the range. Her eyes flicked to the tiny blonde at the other end of the range, and her blue-haired shadow.

 

[SelliTheCookie]

Selli’s eyes narrowed as she watched the other blonde execute not one—but two—perfect shots. She let out a bitter snort, refusing to applaud while everyone in the class did around her.

“What is it Selli?” Friday asked from behind her, her soft voice sounded as if it was only a whisper.

“I don’t like people who show off,” Selli muttered angrily. Folding her arms as the other blonde’s gaze met hers. “Or people who are better than me,” She muttered under her breath.

Friday sighed slightly, “Does that mean that you want me to throw my turn?”

Selli nodded simply.

“V-Very nice, Miss Markin,” The teacher, Lady Valeron, said, she nodded towards the blonde who—from Selli’s point of view anyway—had disappeared into the rest of the class. Lady Valeron ran a finger along the list on her clipboard to see who would go next, she paused for a moment. “Miss Hpmyn?”

Friday came out from her place behind Selli; she took graceful strides toward the teacher before giving her a weak smile. She picked up the bow and an arrow before taking position. Silently Friday cursed as she let her shot stray away from the target and toward the forest behind. She closed her eyes and let the arrow go, a sickly feeling go through her body as the arrow hit a tree instead of the target.

“Not one of your best days,” Lady Valeron sighed sadly, shaking her head a bit and marking something down on her clipboard. Friday kept a straight face as she put the bow down and went to rejoin Selli.

“Miss Vecestvillie,” Lady Valeron called.

Selli confidently strutted to the front of the class, brushing past Friday as they passed each other. She glared at the teacher before picking up the bow and taking an arrow from the quiver. She shook her head to brush the hair out of her face before she took position.

“Why isn’t your hair up, Miss Vecestvillie?” Lady Valeron snapped from behind her.

Selli hissed through gritted teeth, ignoring the teacher she lifted the bow and took aim.

“Spread your feet more,” Lady Valeron snapped at her once more. “They’re supposed to me shoulder width apart.”

“They are,” Selli snarled at her, lowering the bow and looking over her shoulder at the teacher. “Now shut up before I aim this arrow for your big fat mouth!”

Lady Valeron narrowed her eyes, “Now, Miss Vecestvillie, what have we told you about your attitude?”

“That if you shut up and let me do my thing, it wouldn’t exist?” Selli’s lips curled back into a bitter smile as some people in the class snickered.

Lady Valeron sighed; she rubbed a temple with her free hand. “I don’t feel like dealing with you another year, Vecestvillie. You’re being skipped for today, put down the bow and arrow, rejoin your classmates, and we will discuss this after class.”

Selli rolled her eyes; she slid the arrow back into the quiver and tossed the bow to the ground before heading toward the rest of the class, a slight storm in her step, a scowl on her face, and a stone-hard glare in her eye.  

[Sullen Sweet Juliet]

Jen couldn't help but smirk a little to herself from her seat on the sidelines as the blue-haired girl's shot went far wide of the target. Having noticed the lax stance that Friday had taken, she had expected something like this; perhaps not such a far miss, but certainly not a direct hit to the target.

She stripped off her gloves and the guard on her left forearm as she watched the rest of the class take their shots. None had managed to match her feat, and she smiled yet again to herself. As the bell in the school tolled, she slid gracefully to her feet and stalked over to Lady Valeron.

"May I stay over lunch? I have no plans, and I seem to find myself not hungry." The teen's voice had a faint lilt to it, what could possibly be the remnants of an Irish accent. The teacher blinked at her, nodding faintly.

"Of course, Jennifer. Remember to clean up the range when you've finished here." Then she, too, took her leave, leaving the blonde alone on the range. As the teacher walked off, Jennifer untied her hair from the knot on the back of her head and let it fall, a few strands of red and purple framing her narrow face.

 

[SelliTheCookie]

Selli waited until Lady Valeron had disappeared before she approached the blonde that had outdone her. Lady Valeron was old, she’d taught Selli for four years, there was doubt she’d remember that she had to speak with the snippy little blonde yet another lunch period.

Selli stood on the seat the class used while they watched others take shots with her arms folded. Selli had sent Friday off to fetch her some lunch and meet up with her in a fifteen or so minutes, so Selli was alone as her scathing glance followed the blonde’s perfect movements.

Selli couldn’t help but roll her eyes as the blonde let down her hair. How much more of a preppy snob could this girl be? Selli cleared her throat loudly and waited for the blonde to turn around and face her.  

[Sullen Sweet Juliet]

She raised an eyebrow at the little blonde as she turned, halfway through strapping her gloves back on. She did up the last strap before smirking and crossing her arms across her chest. Her dark brown eyes were faintly amused as she tilted her head at the smaller girl, noting with great delight that even on a chair, their eyes were hardly level.

"Can I help you? I'm only here to practice, not to make a fool of either of us." Her smile faded slightly as she picked up the hostility coming off the little figure in cold waves. "Have I done something to offend?" Unfolding her arms, she self-consciously adjusted her gloves before reaching for the bow at her feet.

Jennifer felt somewhat better once it was in her hands, and ran a thumb over the cool material to soothe her nerves.

 

[SelliTheCookie]

Selli stretched on her toes a bit, trying to make herself a bit taller than the blonde. “I don’t like you,” Selli said, narrowing her eyes angrily. “And I don’t like being out done. This is my school and this is my sport. Since I don’t know you I’ll let this one slide, but you’ve been warned. I advise you stay on my good side or things could get ugly for you.”  

[Sullen Sweet Juliet]

The taller girl rolled her eyes and turned her back on the childlike figure, picking an arrow out of the quiver and setting it to the string of her bow. Drawing, she loosed it without hesitation, reaching for another even as her shot thudded into the target. "It doesn't matter whether you like me or not. I am not here to make friends; I am here to further my education, and my athletic potential."

She threw a casual glance over her shoulder at Selli before returning her attention to the arrow in her hands. "I'll make you an offer. If you can loose five arrows and have them fly more accurately than mine, I shall back down and let you have your school, and I shall withdraw from this year's archery competition." Raising the bow, she pulled the string to full draw. "However... If I win, you shall withdraw from the competition, and you shall accompany me to the Winter Ball."

 

[SelliTheCookie]

Selli tilted a brow, the Winter Ball? It was a little early to ask for something like that. But—personal matters aside—Selli was not one to be outdone.

“You’re on, Markin.” Selli growled. She jumped off her chair after the taller blonde shot her last arrow and pushed past her. Quickly she pulled her hair back into a loose pony-tail before she snatched the bow from the taller blonde with a glare.

Selli pulled an arrow from the quiver, lining her index finger with the tip to point it to the direction she wanted it to go as she spread her feet. She closed her left eye and lined up her shot up very carefully smirking a bit as she let the arrow go. It flew for a short while before it hit the target... about two inches to the upper right side of the bull’s-eye.

Selli pulled out another arrow, taking the same precaution to line up her shot before she let it go. It as well missed the center. It ended up about two inches to the upper left side of the bull’s-eye.

“Three more,” Selli said softly, pulling another arrow from the quiver. She lined up her shot once more, taking a bit longer this time to blink some stray hairs out of her eye. She released the arrow and it landed about four inches below the bull’s-eye.

Selli cursed slightly, not because that’s where she didn’t want it to land, but because her fingers were starting to get sore. She shot more-so for speed then accuracy. She pulled another arrow from the quiver and lined it up like she had three times before, she released it and it landed four inches to the lower right side of the bull’s-eye.

Selli lifted the final arrow from the quiver, ignoring her shaking hands. She lined up the shot, forcing her tiny hands to steady before she released her last arrow.

She cursed aloud before it even hit the target, knowing her hand had shook at the last moment and set the arrow off an inch or so. It landed three inches to the lower left side of the bull’s-eye, completing a nearly perfect five-arrow smilie face. But that hadn’t been the only reason she cursed, she released the arrow before her hand had been ready and the sudden release in tension had caused her to tear a muscle.

Selli flopped into a sitting position; she held her sore hand and cursed to herself. She refused to acknowledge the pain or the blonde behind her. She’d lost the only thing she’d ever considered a real talent. She’d lost her right as the top-dog at the school. And now she had to go to the Winter Ball with someone she wasn’t very fond of.  

[Sullen Sweet Juliet]

Jennifer watched coolly as the smaller girl fired off her arrows, a flicker of frustration rippling through her mind in response to the other girl's state of mind. Ignoring the instinctive response that her hand gave her as Selli fell, she paced forward and yanked the arrows out of the target before walking back and pushing them back into the quiver.

"Go to the infirmary and get your hand checked out. I will not count today's match toward our final score. I hardly think that was a fair match." Her voice was cold as she suppressed her natural empathic reactions. Picking up both the bow and the quiver, the tall blonde stalked off to the storage shed and put them away. When she looked back to find Selli still on the ground, she steeled herself and walked over. "Do you need help, Vecestvillie?"

 

[SelliTheCookie]

Selli stubbornly turned her face away from the other blonde, refusing to let her see the pain that was written across it. “My name is Selli,” She snapped. She swallowed roughly in hopes to keep any sounds of weakness or shaking out of it. “And I’m fine.” Her voice cracked over the final letter and she let out a small growl of frustration at herself.

As much as she wanted the blonde to go away and let her drown in her misery alone, another part of her didn’t want to be alone and she found her eyes wearily scanning around for a girl with blue hair that wasn’t anywhere in sight. But she wasn’t looking to make sure Friday was actually present, she was looking to make sure Friday wasn’t anywhere in sight...

Selli pulled her knees closer together as a chill of realisation slithered down her spine. “I’m fine,” She repeated, correcting herself for her earlier mistake.  

[Sullen Sweet Juliet]

"You're obviously not." Jenn dropped to one knee, her hair falling over her face. Her voice was faintly concerned as she cautiously put a hand out to Selli, ignoring the chill hostility that numbed her fingertips. "At least let me walk you up to the nurse." The remnants of her accent grew a little more pronounced as her brown eyes ran over the other archer's slowly swelling hand. "I'm no doctor, but that looks like it hurts." She made a small gesture toward the injury with a half-hearted smile. "Hell, I know it hurts." Her brows drew together slightly. "Vecestvillie... Selli, I'm only trying to help."

It was a strange thing to see her genuinely concerned. It was a far cry from the cool air that she put on while in classes, and a far cry from the mask that she wore around the rest of the school.

 

[SelliTheCookie]

Selli’s mouth curled into a weak smile as she brushed her eyes, still refusing to let the girl who beat her see her tears. “It does hurt,” Selli admitted, “a lot.” She took a shaky breath. “I know you’re trying to help...”

Selli bit her lip, stubbornly running the words through her mind instead of saying them aloud, But I don’t need help. I’m not weak. Selli pulled her knees closer and attempted to stand without having to put any pressure on either of her hands, but her attempt failed and she flopped back down to the ground with a soft thud.

Selli pressed her lips together. “... Can I, maybe, have a hand...?” She muttered, looking at her feet in embarrassment.