Caelum stepped outside and yawned as he stretched. He pulled out his bow, thinking to himself, "What does the world have in store for me today?" He made his way into a less populated area of the forest, realizing that it was the only place he could easily get to for training without being around the other aelves. He needed to learn how these humanoids hunted so he didn't have to rely on aelves for everything.
Caelum had set aside the entire day to take advantage of the chance to train. The sunlight was picture-perfect and high in the sky so the chances of running into an aelf was low. Nothing was hidden from his sight. Unless it was hidden from his view. Did that even qualify, though? Most likely not. Caelum removed his quiver of arrows, which was strapped across his back and arranged in the shape of an x, from over the top of it.
Caelum first set up his targets in order to warm up. He used his magic to create some practice dummies and arranged them in different configurations. His objective was to eliminate as many of them as he could. Though not in the time frame he had hoped for, he was successful in this after having used enough arrows. Even though it was just a warm-up, Caelum felt he could perform better. "Oh well," he finally said. "Guess I'll work on hitting and running..."
Once more, Caelum set up the targets in an attempt to employ the "run and gun" strategy, though he had always referred to it as a "hit and run" tactic. It was, after all, essentially. He had the training dummies arranged on two opposite sides and in a different pattern. Caelum grinned and looked around. "Thank god these things aren't real people... else, I'd be in some serious trouble."
Caelum refocused and took a stand twelve meters from the nearest target. It hurt real bad to run and shoot; he wanted to take his time, go slow, and gradually gain proficiency. The last time he did this, he had injured himself because he was foolish enough to do it in a tree-filled area. It was necessary for Caelum to advance before taking such an action. Caelum was passable, not outstanding. Though his inexperience was nothing compared to his teachers', he was far from giving up.
Setting up these dummies took some time, but Caelum finished the task. Caelum drew his bow, being careful to maintain a reasonable distance. He wanted to push himself from the beginning rather than start out in his comfort zone. But he was still looking for outcomes at the same time. He would eventually get it down, starting with one arrow per dummy and working his way up. He was moving pretty fast, though not as fast as he could have), and he fired an arrow from his bow, just missing the dummy's left arm. He realized that he had fired back a little too soon, even though he had intended to aim for the location of the heart. Then Caelum went to get his arrow back.
Caelum thought to himself about ways he could improve. He came up with only one idea – run faster. Based on the mistimed shot earlier, he was aware of when to release the arrow and would probably try to do so again. He shot the arrow and launched himself, closing his eyes to concentrate. Before he knew it, he was on the ground after hearing the arrow's ripping sound and a loud thunk. In front of him towered a massive tree. "Tsk..."
A bird was soaring over Caelum in the pristine skies above, in the meantime. Silently, the bird released a silver feather. As Caelum observed everything, he noticed the feather sitting next to him. That caused him to smile. Maybe he would reach new heights and transcend everything he detested about himself too...?
Caelum took a moment to gather himself before getting back up, holding onto his bow. He'd defeated one dummy. Ten more to go. If he couldn't pick it up... His genetic makeup prevented him from giving up so easily. "Again!" he exclaimed, eliminating any last shred of doubt. He would just start over if he messed up.
Caelum was ready for another test. He would aim for three dummies this time. Maintaining the ideal distance Caelum surged forward, not pausing to execute rapid shots, firing a maximum of three arrows. Though Caelum made a concerted effort to aim them precisely, only one shot did he manage to hit, and the other two were total misses.
Caelum yelled, "Damn it!" With one hand he covered his face, as though attempting to stop himself from letting out a breath of fire. Once more, Caelum attacked (after gathering his arrows, naturally), but this time he went in the other direction. As he shot the arrows, clarity and focus, talent and determination, all came together. Again, he exclaimed, "Yes!" But this time, instead of failure, it was success that drove it.
Caelum went to get his arrows and reinserted them into his quiver. First, though, was to fix any damage that had come into contact with his arrows. After all, a marksman was only as good as the tools at his disposal. Caelum nodded after a half hour or so. He needed to take care of this first, but he kind of knew what he was going to aim for next. He thought to himself, "Done." Reloading his quiver with arrows, he started his training again.
Even though it took him longer than he had anticipated, Caelum managed to reassemble the training dummies. His face was drenched in sweat. Was he growing weary already? Not possible! He was not going to give up now! With visible signs of exhaustion, Caelum picked up his bow. Even though Caelum's body was tired, his heart and mind prevented him from giving up. He studied his surroundings, getting ready for another run, his bow at the ready. The trees appeared to brace themselves as the sun appeared to beam down on him.
Shaking, Caelum, so to speak, charged into battle. He fired arrow after arrow with precision and precision. Caelum would aim for every dummy, hitting two in the arms, one in the leg, two in the stomach, and one in the heart in a five-for-five match. "So goddamned tired," he sighed. It felt as though his body would collapse at any second.
Caelum would not allow that to happen. There remained six dummies. Next time, he would take them all out. He would not stop until this training satisfied him. With curiosity, he examined the feather that had fallen earlier. He uttered, "Hmm..." as a thought started to take shape in his head.
Caelum picked up the feather from the floor. Caelum made sure that feather would stay by fastening it to an arrow using the skills his teacher had taught him. He had no idea why he was squandering his time in this way. Even though he was in a forest, it was already very hot. That area was getting scorched by the sun, which was not a pleasant sight. He ought to be practicing, not attempting to craft a stylish arrow. However, Caelum was aware of how much he enjoyed slacking off.
After finishing that, Caelum observed his surroundings. It would have been helpful for something like this if he had worked on his unconventional shooting techniques. Besides, he looked incredibly bland. All he was doing was firing and running. Not looking good while doing it didn't help. When Caelum considered that, he sighed.
To wake himself up, Caelum started to stretch a little. He worked the muscles in his arms and legs. Pain was preferable to fatigue for him. Pain, after all, was his body's way of trying not to get tired. Once that was over, he made the decision to dash back to his home in order to fetch some water. He sensed that it would be necessary. He was sure it would be hot, but he still couldn't figure out why he hadn't brought it.
Ironically, Caelum seldom noticed the beauty that nature consistently displayed for him. He'd spent the previous four years living out here. So far, all he had learned had been instinctive. Specific patterns that either he or nature had created on the natural world. But this time, Caelum was compelled to appreciate how pretty the aelven forest was. It was simply… perfect.
He lost all motivation to train as his body slumped to the ground so he could sit cross legged. He was sitting under some nice shade, there were some edible fruits on the floor right next to him… he didn't want to do anything else but sit there and relax. This damned human form limited his stamina as well. As a dragon he could travel for many miles before tiring… but gone were those muscles. Now all he wanted to do was sleep.
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