Aiming True | Callista

[Ashley Bates]

It was another day at Camp Half-blood and that meant that for Ash it was another day of training. Unlike many of the demigods in camp Ash was one of the few that took his training seriously. Most of that was because he was a very serious young man but also because he just happened to like it. While most would try anything they could to get out of a day’s training regime Ash’s time on the lava wall and in the Pegasus stable was his time to relax and out of all the activities here at camp there was none that were as truly relaxing to him as archery training.

Today was a special day though. Today Ash was not only here for archery practice. Instead, he had a new bow slung across his back as he walked to the archery range and not one of the cheap armory bows either. No, this was a bow that he had made with his own hands and now was his first time testing it. Ever since his old bow had been slashed he had felt like a part of himself was missing. Oh sure he had made do in the meantime borrowing weapons when he needed one but none of those bows had been his bow. That all changed now though and Ash would have been lying if he had said he wasn’t excited even if you couldn't really tell by his usual serious expression he wore on his face.

Stepping out on the archery range and finding a place to start Ash unslung his new bow, drew an arrow and notched it to the string for that first experimental shot. He picked his target, raised the bow and as he pulled back on the string he relaxed his breathing. The man who had taught him to shoot a bow had always stressed the weakness of weapons to him. Must people tended to see weapons as instruments of death but that wasn't true. His bow, like all weapons, was just a tool to be used for a specific task. Albeit some tools were more effective than others as he could no doubt tell you but the pull strength, the quality of his arrows and even the aim of his shot was all him. Ash was the true killer. It was the one attribute of his father that he felt he could actually relate to and now he called on that part of himself as he marked his shot and let fly.

The twang of the bow felt right, the rush of wind as the arrow flew pass his face felt right and his aim was true. The arrow flew across the space between the target and sank home with a satisfying ‘thunk’ sound. Ash watched the spot where his arrow had hit making slight internal calculations for wind resistance, arrow weight and other contributing factors and then slowly nodded. He had finally found the right tool for the job. This was the bow he had been searching for and it was about damn time.

Callista DeWitt

[Callista DeWitt]

my skin has turned from porcelain to ivory to steel.

Normality wasn’t something easy to come by, especially when you were who you are. Time formed each person individually, making them who they are and who they aren’t. But there is still time for a change, to have your life flipped and your morals tested. And that was what Callie was going through, or at least, she had gone through it. Growing up she had only known her father and her nanny, and truthfully, Callie had never asked about the woman that gave birth to her, and the only thing she had to go by about her was the letter she left after she was born. Her father didn’t seem bothered by the fact that Callie didn’t appear to take notice that her mother wasn’t present in her life. He did however like the fact that Callie saw Tara as her mother more so than he would have thought.

But after coming to Camp Half-blood, a place filled with people like her, she felt more at home then she did in the outside world. Learning that her mother was some Greek Goddess, that didn't faze her, but it was nice to finally be able to put a name to the person that gave birth to her before dashing. But that didn't stop her from enjoying her time with others, especially learning that she had half-siblings, that was a plus.

She shook her head from her thoughts, keeping her bow close to her side as she made her way to the arena. It was usually the place that everyone trained, and Callie hoped to join the others that were using the archery range, she just prayed that there was at least one spot open for her, that is. When she showed up, she noticed that there were only a few people, one of them being Ash. She knew him briefly, but last, she heard was that his bow was no more, but this one looked different. Sadly, for her, and much to her disappointment, the only open spot was next to where he now stood shooting his bow. With a sigh, she drew closer to the spot, and watched as he shot an arrow towards the target, “New bow?” she questioned rather quietly, but hopefully loud enough for him to hear her.

Ashley Bates

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[Ashley Bates]

The archery range wasn’t exactly the place you went if you wanted to be alone. Chiron demanded so much training out of them that Ash was accustomed to being joined by one or two of his siblings or some of the other archers around camp every during the times he usually practiced. The one that stepped into the spot beside him as he tested his new bow though he had not seen in a while. Ash caught a glimpse of her out of the corner of his eye and when she spoke he lowered his bow and gave her a silent nod.

Not a great conversationalist even under the best circumstances his reaction was not entirely surprising. Ash had a habit of only speaking when he needed to and had the girl caught him at another time he may have just left it at that. His successful bow test had him in a good mood however and as he lowered his bow he turned to glance at the girl who had spoken to him. “Just finished it this morning and needed to test it out.” Granted he was still as business like as ever but you could only ask for so much out of a guy as stolid and rigid as Ash.

Glancing back at his target once more he readied another shot and resumed his target practice with the new bow. In a move quite uncharacteristic for him however Ash spoke up again continuing the conversation as he let another shot fly. “Still need to get the right draw length down but that is mainly me having never shot it. Other than that I think I’ve done well.” He paused for a moment glancing over at her between shots. “How is your training coming?”