My Beloved | Neteyam

SIX. Bow and Arrow

A few days had passed since the arrival of the Omaticayas in Awa'atlu. The whole village had become accustomed to their presence. It was normal now to run into them on the beach or to see them sitting by the wooden bridge. It also seemed that they got used to their new life. The Sully kids knew all that was to be known about the way of water so their initiation was now over. Though, Rewonay was still Eykyu. It would take them time to fully get used to life in Awa'atlu. Therefore, she was to accompany them until they wouldn't need her anymore. Besides, the relationship between Ao'nung and his friends, and the Sully kids had not improved at all. It was almost as if Ao'nung really did not care about the warning Rewonay had given him. He was still doing as he pleased which annoyed her greatly. Ao'nung, unlike Tsireya and Rewonay, had never appreciated fulfilling his duty as the son of the Olo'eykyan. Rewonay loved her brother dearly, but he was far from being mature. And it annoyed her. Tsireya was the youngest yet she behaved a lot better than him. Ao'nung only cared about having fun with his friends and only truly feared the wrath of Tonowari and Ronal. Deep down, Rewonay knew that he was not seeing her as Eykyu, but just as his older sister.

Aside from that, no concrete issues had surfaced for the past few days. Rewonay had found herself close to Kiri. It was safe to refer to her as a friend. There was something about Kiri that reminded her of her own self. It was clear that the girl had a deep connection to Eywa. A deeper one than hers. And Rewonay wanted her to understand that there was nothing wrong with that.

The firstborn of the Metkayina Olo'eyktan was at the training field. From time to time, she would train on her own. She wished to improve the skills that her father was yet to teach her. The Metkayina excelled at the mastery of the spear or the use of the crossbow. However, when it came to the actual bow, it was a different story. The water people, except for the warriors, did not really need to master the bow. The huntings were usually underwater. A bow and arrows would be useless. But Rewonay wished to expand her range. With the Sky People around, it was safe to master several weapons.

However, if she tells her father that, he would surely refuse to teach her. And she had no good enough excuses to convince him to train her at the bow mastery. Tonowari believed she was too young to become a real warrior. If you asked Rewonay, she'd argue that he was being too protective.

Therefore, here she was, alone on the training field with a bow and an arrow in hand. By teaching the Sully kids the way of water, she had not had anything to train on her own.  But now that their formation was over, her routine returned to what it used to be.

Rewonay propped the arrow with the bow and got into position. Taking a deep breath, she aimed. She let go. The arrow pierced through the air but it was not what she had expected. It landed quite far from the red center, at the very limit of the last circle. She tried again, but the result was the same. She had a long way to go before getting it right. Her aim was not that bad, but the arrow never landed where she was looking which was quite frustrating. Perhaps it was the wind? Or perhaps she was just bad at bow mastery? Or both?

It looked easier where her father would use his bow. She remembered when she was younger, she used to sneak out of the family Marui, escaping her mother's surveillance, to run at the training field and watch her father train. She'd be so amazed at how skilled Tonowari was. It was like second nature for him. She wanted to become like him. To be as good at fighting and as upright as him. Now she realized that a lot of pressure and responsibilities were resting on his shoulders. Yet he was still doing such a good job. Her respect for him only grew stronger.

Rewonay walked to the target and removed the arrows. She returned to her former spot and aimed. Only with practice, she would get better. So until she'd get closer to the bull eye, she wouldn't come back to the village. But from the way, it was looking (she again hit the outer circle) it would take some time.