Shot to the heart [Open]

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    Theo could most often be found within the castle, cozied up in his bureau surrounded by books, or in the stable taking care of his family Clydesdale's. But lately he had found himself with the desire to just go out to the training grounds with twelve arrows, each hand crafted by Theo, his brown leather quiver that was strapped around his back, and with his oak bow. Theo was a very skilled marksmen when it came to the bow and arrow, and trained often to better his skills. Theo sported a grey button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled, a vest with silver embroidery, and a pair of loose black slacks. His garbs were comfortable and breathable enough that he could easily maneuver in them. 

    Theo had set up a series of targets surrounding him in a circle, each a certain distance apart from each other. He set this up so he could work on certain training exercises he had set up for himself. Theo grabbed an arrow from his quiver, elongating his arms displaying how muscular they really were behind the jackets his usually wore. He put the arrow in place, pulled back the string... as he took a deep breath, the let it go, hitting a direct bulls-eye.

    Following the first shot, he continued turning 45 degrees every time as quickly as he could, hitting every single target, until he had no arrows left. His breathing was heavy, but steady. When he finished, he straightened his back, and went to collect each arrow.  

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It seemed that Theo would not be alone in this training exercise with his archery. As Diamond himself came out to the range and was using the stock arrows and a very decent long bow from the armory. He himself wanted to touch up on his shooting since it had been awhile since he used a bow. And at the moment he did not have anything pressing or training his men. While coming to the range he saw Theo before a few times in the castle. But never got to talk to the man due to there duties and such. He walked up and watched him fire at each one of the targets around him. "You seem a bit out of shape if your that winded" he said and approached the man. Since Diamond did not want to get a arrow to the knee or in the head. Since that almost happened to him a few times.

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Garza watched silently from the walls as he made his way to a nearby staircase, his eyes glued to the man's form. He noted his quick turning, and was even able to see the way he exhaled his breath when each arrow was loosed. The old guard was rather impressed, raising an eyebrow in surprise and admiration as the nobleman actually hit the bulls eye on all targets. By the time the archer was gathering his arrows, Garza was walking toward the man, his long legs taking big strides. He came up behind Diamond, who was making a remark about the man being out of shape. With a stern gaze, he addressed the former mercenary turned knight with a reprimand.

"Nonsense. If he were truly out of shape, he would not have been able to shoot that quickly and accurately. You could learn from this man."

The old guard then saluted to the Duke, his posture straight and proper, showing the respect afforded Leo's noble status. Even when Garza went at ease, his posture was still impeccable, refusing to show any slack like a common soldier or citizen.

"Excellent shooting, milord...and that's not empty flattery. Not many archers can hit targets that quickly or accurately in succession. You ever consider teaching? My soldiers could certainly use it!"

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Theo turned around after collecting , seeing the silver-haired Diamond. Theo raised an eyebrow at the man, who commented on his shape. Only to be shot down, as the old guard Garza approached and corrected Diamond. Theo was flattered, and approached the men walking with a straight posture, and with a slight swagger. Theo was not cocky, and did not boast about his skills in archery. "Thank you both for your keen observations." Theo said, his breath stabilizing back to a normal rate. "However, Captain Diamond has reason. I am a bit out of shape. I haven't the time to come out and shoot with my new position as advisor." Theo clutched his bow in his left hand, and put his arrows back in the quiver on his back. "That shooting was not nearly as quick as I have been..." Theo looked back to the targets, thinking about what he could do to improve his timing.

Theo shook the idea soon after, and walked over to both men, extending a hand with hopes of shaking both of their hands. Theo hadn't formally met either men until now, but he had reviewed the files he had about them, and has seen them around the castle. If they would shake the Duke's hands, Theo would have a firm grip and a welcoming handshake. Theo would look at both of them in the eyes, smiling all the while.

He would look back to Garza, clutching his bow in his left hand. "I do appreciate the offer, Mr. Garza, however I have never thought to teach, and don't feel that I could do it justice." his modesty was apparent. Theo then went back to his original stance before in the middle of his targets, and would look back to the men. "So, what brings you both here today?" he asked with curiosity.

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Diamond nods his head and grined a bit as he saw the new advisor to Noku get more active and training a bit. Although he had not expected Garza to show up. "I have no qualms about his accuracy or skill with the bow. I am just speaking on his physical condtioning. But I do like that Duke Banks is training to improve himself. Due to his new position as a advisor to the king. This gets true respect from me" he forgot being more well mannered here. Since the old warrior had chastized him a bit. But it was something he could not fully drop since he perfered to be honest with people. When Theodore extended his hand for a handshake he did so and had a firm warrior grip. Out of respect for this man "Ironicly for myself, trying to get my bowmanship improved. Even though I am not a master, I still want to be decent and have the skill. Rather then let it go to waste" said Diamond as he was using one of the bows from the armory. Although the man would have perfered buying or getting one made from a well known craftsmen.

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Theo smiled at the Guard in admiration. He nodded in acknowledgement. "Unfortunately for myself, sitting in a bureau for most of the day is not beneficial to my physical health." he joked. He noticed that when he shook the guard's hand, it was firm and demanded respect, to which Theo complied. He respected any man who devoted his life to protecting the lives of others. In fact, he already had much respect for Diamond since he spent some of his time protecting his Godmother, Duchess Vanya.

Theo turned his attention to the bow held in the hand of Diamond. He noticed that the bow was worn with use, probably from training with the state of the upper and lower limbs, and the worn state of the grip. The bow was taken care of to some extent, but Theo could tell that it had been misused through years of training. "May I?" he asked, gesturing to the bow held in Diamond's hands. If Theo was granted his request, he would examine it thoroughly, regarding the state of the wood, string, grip, and shelf. He would face away from Diamond, pulling back the string, testing the elasticity. He would bring the bow back into it's resting position, and hand it back carefully to Diamond.

"That is quite the bow you have there. May I ask, does it belong to you?" he asked with curiosity, but assuming the answer. He extended his bow to Diamond, offering to let him hold it and take a gander at it for himself. The bow was light in weight, and the wood was a stained rosewood with his family crest engraved on the upper limb. The handcrafted bow curved in all the right places and was visibly well cared for. "That was a gift from my father." he began, "A gift to celebrate my birthday, and the success of my training...from when I was a young lad." Theo sighed. He really did miss his father.

Once Diamond was done, Theo would take hold of his bow, taking a moment to reminisce, and continued. "If you would like, I would take the time to give you some advice to help you improve your skills with a bow." he said giving the bow in his hand a little shake. "Only if you'd like." Theo bowed his head as he asked. "Feel free to join us as well Mister Garza, sir I feel that this would be good for you as well." Theo joked as he offered.

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Diamond gave the man a nod and handed the bow to Theo. "I'm using one of the bows from the armory. I would like to get one made for myself. Even though weapons can be made in mass. Sometimes you need a weapon for you either tailor made for you. Or it calls out to you saying that you are the right person. Kind of the soul of the weapon or item" he said and watched the Duke test the bow. It clued him on to, how well trained he was with the bow. Then he said offering a feel or touch of the bow, Diamond was unsure. As this was a family relic and item, he felt a bit unworthy to touch something like this. But at the same time he did not want to be rude. "I see, I don't feel worthy to touch an item like this. As this was given to you by your father and from the sounds of it. Something thats rather important to you. You should not hand it out so carelessly. Sorry the woman that raised me, was a former lady of nobility from a from a far off land. She taught me some customs and manners from her land. Its been ingrained into my skull, even though at times I am not well mannered" he said and chuckled a bit at a fond memory he had of her.

"Sure that sounds good, you did mention your timing. Perhaps we could set up a small hunting expidtion out into the outer lands. Perhaps we could get the King on this as well, it might do a bit of good to get outside of the castle" he said and knew that Noku was constantly cooped up in the castle. Although no one could blame him for being paranoid about someone trying to kill him. "I do have a plan to keep the King safe if he wants to go or any nobility that wants to" he said and then desided to go into a basic draw bow stance. It was a tad sloppy and would need some improvement.

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Just as Theo suspected, he figured based on the wear of the bow that it had been used and abused by several pairs of hands. "It is still a fine piece, it has just been used for too long." Theo examined. He understood the connection that one can develop with a weapon. But he viewed his bow more like an instrument. "Oh, if a handcrafted bow is what you seek, let me bring you to a woodsmith I know, even if it is simply to look." Theo's offer was genuine, he felt that if any man wanted to excel with the bow and arrow, they needed their own customized weapon, tailored to their needs. "He's the same man who crafted my bow, and personalized my arrows. A family friend." Though Theo knew few people, he did have some connections.

Theo rescinded his offer, returning the bow back to the held position he had before. Theo nodded, he understood why Diamond declined his offer. "I only offer this to people whom I feel I can trust." Theo offered a gentle smile. "You were the guard for my God mother for some time, were you not?" Theo arched an eyebrow, hoping that he was not misinformed. Theo's smile returned as Diamond spoke fondly of his guardian. "Sounds like a fine upbringing, and you need not worry, your manners are fine."

Theo pressed his thumb against the carved crest on his bow, feeling each detail. He did it not out of nervous habit, but to remind him of his upbringing. With all this talk of childhood and family, it made him think back on his past, and reflect. After a moment of thought, he continued with an intrigued persona. "It would do the body good to get some fresh air, I'm sure the king would appreciate the invitation." He extended a hand as if to accept the offer. "It sounds like a plan." his handshake would once again be firm, but this time professional.

"But first, perhaps we should begin with a less on sharp shooting and accuracy." Theo prepared himself to shoot once again. "It may help if we are to go hunting."

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"Ah yes Lady Melda, I do feel honored by your words though. And it would very much be appriciated on finding a craftsmen of such great calibur" he said and gave a nod to the man and did remember Theodore and Melda had some connection. He would need to look that word up on godmother. It was not a word he was familure with that term at all but would look that up later. It seemed that Theo was also on board with that idea of getting the king out of the castle for a bit. He would need to speak to the King at some point soon though. He shook hands again with the man as it seemed that they were in agreement on this matter. But then got back into stance with the bow and heard him on the sharp shooting "Alright so what am I doing wrong right now. Or would you like me to go through the motions be fore you advise me. Think of this as well as training for your new postion in the kingdom" he said to the man. Since he knew that Theodore would need some experiance or more when dealing with the king.

"I only figured that the King has been around with the women folk a lot. And really not has done much other manly past times for most noblemen" he said speaking on the matter of Noku again.

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Theo smiled, and did a mini-bow before the Guardsman. It was kind that he felt honored. "Anyone who devotes their time to protect my family, is seen as family to me." Theo was close with his God mother, closer now following the passing of his father. He really admires Melda as a noblewoman and as a role model... and after losing his father, he wasn't sure how he would handle losing her if anything were to happen.

Theo gathered his thoughts again, and examined Diamond in his stance. "Hmm..." Theo's eyes were critically looking over every detail of Diamond's posture, the way he held the bow, the way his fingers held the string. "You can start by relaxing... Think of the bow as an instrument. You want to play it in a more... gentile way." Theo then walked to the side by which the string was pulled back on. "Lower your elbow, do not lock it, but rather keep it firm." he said as he narrowed his eyes, "The string should be nearest your cheek, not your ear." Theo's eyes looked down to Diamond's feet. "Dominant foot back, submissive foot forward." Theo took a step back, "I must say that your posture is very good. I assume that there is some militia background, or that you were at least trained to some degree..."

Theo took a deep breath, "This stance may be uncomfortable to you now, but in time you will grow familiar to it, and find comfort in it." He felt a warmth inside him, this reminded him of his very first archery lesson. Oh how far he had come. "Remember to look at the arrow, not the shaft. Now, when you are ready, fire."

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Diamond did give a nod to the bow that Theo gave to him and then let the man do what he needed on perfecting his stance a bit. Relaxing a bit doing so but not limp, he thought of being like a willow tree flexable and strong. "Sellsword by trade, so I have been in a lot of combat and a few wars. I knew some archery, all of the members were taught some trades in each skill with basic knowlage. To always adapt and overcome against the enemy " he said and then did some more switching a bout from the directions that Theo gave. He would have normally went with aiming but was going to show something he did pick up from the east. Diamond let his mind empty and then fired letting the arrow fly through the air. It knew where to strike and it hit just a few inches from the center of the target. Although he knew that aiming was better rather then letting chance but he wanted to show off a bit. "Thanks for the help there on the propper stance. This is why I train every day, I don't want to get sloppy. Now I am curious are you good with a sword or is archery is more of your thing" he asked him.

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    Theo watched as the man shifted and altered his stance. He could see the military background in the strength in his eyes and stature, and appreciated that he was a seasoned fighter. Theo watched his breathing and could tell that he had settled his mind in order to focus on the task at hand. Theo's eyes immediately shot to the target, and... a few inches off. "Not bad." the tone in his voice sounded pleasantly surprised. He walked over to the target, and removed the arrow with ease. He examined the mark left by Diamond's arrow, and saw that it went in deep. "Your form was excellent, but appeared uncomfortable. Like I said, you will soon be adjusted once you start practicing more." Theo wandered over to Diamond, and handed him back the arrow, feather side to Diamond.

    His face however soon turned a lighter shade of pale, as Diamond made mention of swordsmanship. "I know very little about sword combat." he paused "I was better educated with a bow and arrow, and was only taught enough to defend myself with a sword in hand." Theo rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "But unfortunately I am grossly out of practice. It has been years since I've touched a sword let alone fought with one." Theo was wondering where Diamond was going with this... and with their location in mind, Theo figured he'd have to grab a sword.

    Theo had his bow at hand and examined it. "I have always been far more comfortable with a bow and arrow, and my father recognized that in me as a young lad." a passing smile grew on his face. "So he focused my training on what I enjoyed best, with a few sessions on sword combat and hand to hand combat... to which I was never comfortable with..." he turned his attention back to Diamond. "What about you? I assume you prefer the sword as your weapon of choice?"