when the straight and narrow gets a little too straight

[ensared]

Who: Gale, OTA
Where: Sports field/archery range
When: October 18
Rating: G
Summary: It's not really socializing, but, hey, she isn't hiding today.

Archery was an important part of Gale's life. Since he'd been a child, his father had taught him, showing him everything from which is the best wood to carve a bow from, how to string it, how to take aim and hit a target, and even how to make and fletch his own arrows so they wouldn't have to buy them. It's cheaper that way, and the Hawthornes never did have the money to spare.

After his father died, Gale had to take on the responsibility of keeping them all alive and fed and under a roof. It was difficult, but with his mother's help, they kept the kids going strong. Vick hardly knew what they'd lost. Posy didn't know their dad at all. The only thing they had left of him besides the honorary - useless - medal was the bow and arrows he and Gale had made together, so of course that was the crutch he leaned on when he needed to relax.

Things at school, even this one, are much calmer and far less stressful than they were at home, but it never occurred to him to stop shooting. That's what the archery club was for. Archery was one of the few things that could help him feel normal, so he was out again at the range, gauging just how far he can shoot accurately. Gale may not have been the best shot ever, but he had the strength for distance, and it showed. Some arrows hit the bullseye; others circled around it in a tight enough circle that he didn't bother trying to correct his aim that much. The further out he shot, however, the looser it got, and that was his focus for today.

If anyone asked how long he'd been out here, Gale would not be able to answer. It was too easy to lose track of time when he's going back and forth from targets to shooting position, or reaching for another arrow. It's a pattern, slow and methodical, easy to sink into and forget the rest of the world.

Comments

[lefthandedgenius]

Lydia isn't out on the sports field for archery.

To be honest, she's not much for most sports, ice skating being a rare exception. But her purpose out on the field is entirely a cerebral one as she holds a tablet in hand and walks around in seemingly random directions. Sometimes she circles, sometimes she reverses course. It appears to be a little haphazard.

[ensared]

Lydia is impossible to ignore, as usual. It isn’t annoying - not exactly, but it is distracting and maybe even a trifle distracting as he tries to focus on his shot. Eventually, Gale finds himself unable to line up his shot and gives into his curiosity, relaxing the bow and pointing the arrow at the ground.

“What are you doing?”

[lefthandedgenius]

She hadn't been paying attention to him; solely focused on the task she'd set to herself. But when Gale calls out in her direction, she lifts her head from her purview of her tablet, her mouth suddenly curving into a smile.

"I'm making a maze." she says. "The plan is to make a maze people have to navigate in order to get to the center, and that's where the dance is going to be. You're going, right?"

[ensared]

“A maze,” he echoes flatly, raising an eyebrow. “You’re going to make people work to get to the dance.”

Not a bad idea, actually. Gale likes it.

“I haven’t thought about it,” he says with a shrug of one shoulder. “I guess I could, if I can make it through your maze.”

[lefthandedgenius]

"Maybe you hadn't noticed," she replies slyly, "But the kids in this school are very clever. And enjoy having their wits tested. You never know where you'll end up in a maze unless you keep your wits about you."

Making an adjustment to her tablet, she notes mildly, "Maybe you need proper incentive."

[ensared]

He snorts. “Are you planning on putting some kind of traps in there, too? I bet the teachers would love that.” Gale actually thinks the students would get a kick out of it, depending on what it is.

“And that would be…?”