VOLATILE (I) : peter pan ouat

When the Creeps Happened

Harry and I are in the forest, each taking turns working on our aim. Our target is a tree that's about 20 yards in front of us. I continually miss the target with the arrows, though I've been progressively getting closer and closer over the hours. Harry has been throwing his knife, either Gertrude or Judy, over and over at the tree, and he is yet to miss.

"How do you do it so well?" I ask.

"What, throwing Judy?" He asks.

That's the one.

"Yeah, I have no aim." I admit.

He shrugs, throwing the knife again. Hit. "When you do something for eight years you tend to get good at it. Knives are my primary, which is nice."

"Primary?" I ask.

"The weapon I'm best at. I've got good aim and I'm good with them for short and long distance. I prefer long distance though. I'm secondary with swords. I can use them, and I'm pretty good with them but nowhere near where I am with knife throwing."

"Why don't you use a bow and arrow?" I ask.

I raise it and aim at the tree. Miss.

"Too easy," he laughs. He's not mocking me, but the words make me grit my teeth. "Plus they are a pain to carry around, and they are slow moving to shoot. Nowhere like this."

He runs and grabs the knife, jogging back to me. He puts it in his belt gesturing to it for me.

"Three," he begins, "two, one."

He whips it out of the belt, pivoting in a circle, launching the knife just as he turns around. There is an immediate thunk in the wood. The knife has sunk deep into the bark, causing a deep split in it up the tree.

A powerful, immediate hit.

"That," he grins, "that is why I use knives and not that crup in your hands."

"It's not crup." I remember the old word. "It's just what I know how to use."

"You could use that dagger," he suggests, pointing to my cloak.

"I don't know how," I trail off.

He shrugs. "I wasn't born knowing how to use knives. I had to learn."

"I'm not going to be here in 47 days, I don't have time to learn." I tell him.

He looks at me oddly. Did I tell him about the bet?

"Pan and I are playing a game." I elaborate.

He winces. "Well, when that all inevitably goes wrong you may or may not want a back on plan with a weapon you can actually use in combat."

I roll my eyes but chuckle. Harry isn't condescending, so I can put up with his teasing. Alex however, he's another story.

"Besides, daggers are only a little longer than knives. They serve essentially the same use, except they are harder to throw. Better for up close combat though, still not as good as a sword. It's a happy compromise between the two."

"So if swords were pants and knives shorts, daggers would be capris?"

Harry laughs. "Essentially. I'll have to start teaching you tomorrow though if you are alright with that. It's almost dinner and I've promised a lot of different people I would bring them food."

"Deal." I chuckle.

I take one last aim at the tree, and hit it spot on. Where I had aimed and everything. Grinning I rush over to the tree. I grab the arrow and a few others that surround the tree. I yank out Harry's knife and chuck it back towards him.