Anna stared at the target in front of her. She drew an arrow smoothly and nocked it, pulling back with her back and arm muscles. She aimed, breathed in and out half way, then released.

Thud.

It smacked in the middle of the target. Anna drew another arrow and fired again, having the same results as the first one. Three more arrows smacked into the center of the target, and Anna put her bow down, drawing her knives.

Constant practice had made her excellent with both the bow and knives, but she knew if she stopped practicing now, she might lose the skill.

She threw the knife smoothly, and it spun in the air, ending with the tip embedded in the outside of the center circle. Quickly, she threw the other knife, with her opposite hand, and it also thudded into the center circle. Anna had made sure to practice throwing her knives with both arms, in case she found herself in the position that she couldn't use one of them.

Striding over to the target, she jiggled the knives out of the target, and went over to a new target, throwing them again. Retriving them from the center, Anna sheathed them, and mounted Erak with her bow. She backed him up several yards, and set him into a faster jog. Anna drew an arrow, and fired at one target, immediately swinging to face the other target, arm already instinctively drawing, nocking, and firing another arrow. Scanning the forest for another of her targets that she had set up, she found one and fired at it with complete success.

After she had fired a total of five shots, while riding Erak, her horse, she stopped, smiling to herself at a near perfect score. Four of her arrows had smacked into semi-middle of their cardboard target, but the fifth had whistled over the top of it's target.

She went to the cabin, and quickly put her bow and arrows inside, but leaving her knives on. The lack of snow had made tracking harder, but the ground was still damp, so faint impressing of tracks could still be seen. Anna studied the ground intently as she walked, snapping her head up randomly to check if anyone was there. She was sure to make her checkings random, and in no apparent pattern, knowing that a pursuer would eventually notice the pattern and conform to it. After a few minutes of just seeing occasional deer and squirrel tracks, Anna was just about to turn around and head back to the cabin when she saw a footprint. Without moving her head, Anna scanned her surroundings in her peripheral vision. She walked silently over to the footprint, and found several more, leading away. Coming to a decision, Anna followed them. As she studied the tracks, she came to the conclusion that it was a man, indicated by the wider feet, and that he was alone. She followed the tracks for awhile, until she realized with a start that she was no longer on her family's property. Reluctantly, she turned around, and jogged back towards the cabin.

Retrieving her bow, she mounted Erak and cantered back towards the house. She closed the paddock gate, handing Erak an apple just before she left.

"You did great today, boy." She spoke softly to her horse. Erak shook his mane slightly. Anna grinned and ran up to the house.

Entering, she helped her mother set the table, and finish making dinner. Her father arrived home from work, and after greeting him, she belatedly remembered to take her cloak and knives off. They all sat down to eat, and after dinner they played a family game, and then it was bedtime. Anna's last though before drifting off to sleep was, I am really a Ranger's apprentice. The thought made the corners of her lips turn up slightly, and then she was fast asleep.


652 words this chapter is!

Hey guys, it's Evara (duh) again! Quick announcement... (drumroll) This book is past 200 views and also past 60 votes! YAY! Thank you guys so much for all the support and votes and comments!

I am going to soon start a fiction book, and I have it all outlined now (Thanks to Ithildaeforever, you know what you did :D) but I am still deciding when I am gonna post it... Comment if you want me to post it sooner or later. ;)

So bye bye puppies!

<<<Evara>>>

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