Baxter
Diamond Dogs
High Templar Winter Wolf
"Wars are not won by the weak-willed."
Posts: 238
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Post by Baxter on Nov 30, 2012 15:02:04 GMT -5
Baxter had been staring at his drink for several minutes now. The cider mug had been untouched since it had been brought to his table. He wasn't even sure why he'd ordered it. Maybe to make sitting by himself in a bar look less awkward. Maybe because it was customary. Whatever.
The archer was sulking. Despite all he'd been through, all the trouble he'd caused, he had still expected to leave with Ice Fang today for Everfree. That hadn't been the case though. The other wolf had told Baxter not to come with him, to consider dropping out of the Invasion while he still could. Because he'd had a 'bad feeling'. Baxter wasn't even sure what that meant. Maybe Ice Fang didn't want him getting hurt? Or that he'd had a premonition. Or maybe it was just a nice way of telling him to scram, that he'd caused enough damage already and was an embarrassment to be around.
It wasn't like Baxter was going to defy Ice Fang, say no and tell him he would fight if he wanted to. The other wolf had saved his tail twice, taking big blows in the process. The archer had no room to not do exactly what he said. But he couldn't return to the pack now, not by himself. He would get eaten alive, figuratively of course, especially after all his talk about how stupid the wolves were for doing mercenary work, and all his talk about the wolves leading the dogs. He'd never see the end of it: the coward who went to take part in the Invasion and then left without even fighting. How after all his rantings he couldn't even fight among the dogs.
Going back now would turn him into the biggest freaking hypocrite in the North. He was already disliked, but this would turn him into a laughing stock, take away every shred of credibility he had. No one listened to him before, but now they'd be justified. The wolf let out a groan, rubbing his eyes. He was stuck. He had no clue what he was going to do. That's why he was here. He didn't want to make any decisions right now. He just wanted to feel like garbage.
After enough time staring at his drink, Baxter finally got up and left the tavern. He was soon out onto the Fillydelphia streets, walking in no particular direction, looking for nothing in particular. Just walking. Maybe it would clear his head.
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Post by Red Charge on Nov 30, 2012 16:50:27 GMT -5
Baxter hadn't been noticing where he was walking. Maybe because he was in such a sullen mood, maybe because despite it all, he was still mentally and physically exhausted due to the trials of the last day, maybe because he felt rejected... but he paid no attention to where he went.
All he knew was that he ended up in a dead end, at the end of which was only one Diamond Dog, cloaked and hooded, aiming a bow at four targets quite the distance away from each other. An almost impossible shot, no way that dog cou-... but he did. One shot, four arrows, each striking dead center. Whoever that dog was, he was a master archer. Baxter could tell just by the fletching of his arrows.
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Baxter
Diamond Dogs
High Templar Winter Wolf
"Wars are not won by the weak-willed."
Posts: 238
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Post by Baxter on Nov 30, 2012 17:12:41 GMT -5
Without really paying attention to where he was going, Baxter found himself at a dead end. The wolf broke from his trance to look at where he was, trying to get his bearings. The only two here were himself and a cloaked Diamond Dog, interestingly enough another archer.
The dog's cloak and hood made him intriguing enough, but something else caught Baxter's attention. Four arrows. The other archer had four arrows ready to fire in his bow, and looking towards where the dog was aiming, Baxter could spot four separate targets. "No way," Baxter thought to himself. There was no way the dog could make that shot.
But before Baxter's very eyes, he did. If he hadn't just seen it, he wouldn't have believed it. The wolf stared at the targets, now with an arrow jutting out perfectly of each of their centers. And speaking of the arrows, they were of remarkable quality. Whoever used that good of arrows and could make that good of a shot was no novice. Baxter turned his gaze back to the other archer, examining the hooded dog for several seconds before finally saying anything.
"How long did it take you to be able to do that?" he asked. There was no sarcasm or antagonism in his voice. Only genuine interest.
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Post by Red Charge on Nov 30, 2012 17:16:31 GMT -5
The dog chuckled silently to himself, a mute, it seemed. He gestured for Baxter to come forwards, silently miming drawing a bow from his back as an indicator for Baxter to do the same. He held a finger up for Baxter to observe as he took out two arrows, one between the index and middle finger, the other between the middle and ring finger. He carefully balanced them in his hands as he drew another shot, bow flat horizontally, and struck both extreme targets, one to the leftmost and one to the rightmost.
Baxter had a hard time catching exactly how he drew them in the bow, but he sure seemed to do it effectively.
The dog gestured for him to try.
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Baxter
Diamond Dogs
High Templar Winter Wolf
"Wars are not won by the weak-willed."
Posts: 238
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Post by Baxter on Nov 30, 2012 17:25:51 GMT -5
Baxter followed the gesture to the dog, standing alongside him. The dog's refusal to talk was puzzling. Maybe he was a mute. Regardless, Baxter did as the dog said, withdrawing his own bow and watching as the dog hit the two most-distant targets with a single shot. He had done it so effortlessly that Baxter hadn't been able to record the exact way he'd done it.
The archer having finished and waiting on him to try, Baxter pulled out two arrows of his own from his quiver. He held the bow flat and drew back the arrows, trying to mimic the dog's technique as best as he could. He then released the arrows, watching them now that they were out of his control. The wolf wasn't expecting any miracles. To be honest, he wasn't expecting much of a result at all.
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Post by Red Charge on Nov 30, 2012 17:30:20 GMT -5
Both arrows not only missed, but one ended up ricocheting off a wall, came spinning back and bludgeoned Baxter over the head, causing the other hooded dog to point and laugh silently. Baxter only first noticed now, but both the dogs garbs and his bow was of the highest quality, even better than his own. He could see a set of plated ring armor beneath the cloak, very stylized and with an unnatural polish, possibly magical. Who was this mysterious archer?
This time the teacher tried a more direct approach to learning, he kicked Baxter's stance wider, bent his knees slightly, correcting his form, then moved up behind him, pulling his arm back to pull two arrows, guiding his fingers to grasp them in the appropriate spots, then took control of both his arms, like a puppeteer, guiding them to the correct positions on the bow,showing him how to draw it so that they both recieve the same amount of tension force, then let go of Baxter's arms, allowing him to take aim on his own.
But how does one aim two arrows? That was not yet explained. The teacher must figured that learning by trial and error were best here.
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Baxter
Diamond Dogs
High Templar Winter Wolf
"Wars are not won by the weak-willed."
Posts: 238
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Post by Baxter on Nov 30, 2012 17:42:35 GMT -5
Both arrows had missed (no big surprise), and one had even come back at Baxter, hitting him in the head. The wolf rubbed the spot where it'd made contact in frustration, looking back at the other dog. It was only now that Baxter noticed the dog's armor and bow, or more particularly how high quality they were. He paused, thinking to himself. Was this dog someone important within the invasion? Someone Baxter should know? Maybe it was just that no one had told him about the archer.
During Baxter's second attempt, the teacher himself took control of Baxter's form, getting him into a better position. Once that was done, the dog left Baxter to aim for himself. How though? Especially when they needed to go in opposite directions. Did he need to tilt the arrows? No, was they're a way he needed to pull them back on the string? No, it had to do with the aiming itself, right? But what? The wolf thought carefully about the situation, unable to come up with any ideas. Finally he decided on aiming between the two targets. It was as good a guess as any, but he didn't expect more than both of them to fly forwards.
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Post by Red Charge on Nov 30, 2012 17:48:03 GMT -5
Before Baxter could fire, he felt the other dog's gauntlet on his hand again, squeezing his three middle fingers, suddenly, he noticed, the angle of the arrows had changed. The more he squeezed his fingers together, the farther away from each other the arrows faced.
He fired the shot, and missed. But now that he knew how to do it, it was only a matter of training and practice. It was still not even at novice level. But the archer seemed eager to help and it's not like Baxter had anything better to do. So they spent some time, with Baxter firing shots that would mostly miss and the master watching. But Baxter noticed some improvement as he fired pairs after pairs of arrows. The master nodded approvingly after his last shot managed to hit one of the targets. Not dead center, but a hit is a hit nonetheless.
The master has yet to speak or reveal the face under the hood, he merely watched as Baxter worked, often going about to return his arrows to him and correct his stance or his handling. All in all, having a teacher that didn't talk was refreshing. It was obvious the teacher believed Baxter could get the hang of it eventually, or he wouldn't have spent the time trying to teach him.
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Baxter
Diamond Dogs
High Templar Winter Wolf
"Wars are not won by the weak-willed."
Posts: 238
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Post by Baxter on Nov 30, 2012 19:08:39 GMT -5
Baxter watched as the other archer squeezed his fingers together, fanning the arrows out further the harder they were pressed together. So that was how it was done. The arrows still missed their mark (and the targets altogether), but at least they didn't come back to hit him in the head. Now that he knew the technique, the only thing left was practice. His arrows still continued to miss, but he felt he was getting better. Finally he was able to make contact with one of the targets. It was a start.
Having an instructor who couldn't talk was nice. It left no room for distraction, allowing the wolf to concentrate. Any criticism was replaced with correction as well. The practice wasn't about avoiding admonishment, but actually getting better. He was determined to make the time well spent.
That wasn't to say that having a mute instructor didn't make things a little awkward, though. It wasn't so much that the other archer didn't talk, but more that Baxter didn't know what to say. He didn't want the entire session to be silent, but he had to think carefully about what he might ask and if he'd be able to understand the dog's response. "Did you develop this yourself?" he eventually asked, taking out two more arrows and lining up another shot. "Or did someone teach you?" he finished after firing.
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Post by Red Charge on Dec 1, 2012 0:54:53 GMT -5
The dog shrugged and made a so-so gesture with his hand, as though saying 'a little from column a a little from column b'. Possibly he meant that someone taught him and he just developed his own technique out of it. He watched Baxter train some more, following his movements carefully.
It was still a long time after when Baxter finally managed to hit both targets, though it only happened once, and the arrows hit in awkward places, nowhere lethal anyway. The dog nodded to him, he got the principal, was time to take a break. He sat down and gestured for Baxter to join him.
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Baxter
Diamond Dogs
High Templar Winter Wolf
"Wars are not won by the weak-willed."
Posts: 238
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Post by Baxter on Dec 1, 2012 10:31:50 GMT -5
After much more practice, Baxter had finally managed to hit both targets. The arrows hit far from center. Nowhere close to a direct hit, but a hit none-the-less. He was starting to get the hang of it, or at least making progress.
Apparently the silent instructor had thought Baxter had practiced long enough, and that it was time for a break. Baxter followed the dog, sitting down next to him. Another awkward moment, with Baxter trying to come up with something to say. It was very much a one-sided conversation, though that wasn't necessarily the dog's fault. "Do you teach that many archers?" The question had been asked just to break the silence. Baxter might as well have asked "How's the weather?".
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Post by Red Charge on Dec 1, 2012 10:47:23 GMT -5
The dog nodded, then taking a short breath. He was playing with the fire that Baxter hadn't noticed was lit earlier. Which was odd, since the fire was playing back with him. As he moved his hand around it, it responded and danced with it, he was not just an archer, he was a flame bearer. The flames danced around, splitting and rejoining, climbing up to the dog's fingertips and dancing on the back of his gauntlet. He seemed to consider something.
"This invasion serves no purpose." He said decidedly, his voice rather smoother than would be anticipated, with a slight accent Baxter could not identify. "It does not matter if all of the Diamond Dogs involved will die. They serve no purpose other than to just be. You are all pawns in a game of chess you cannot even comprehend, one that does not even involve you. Your friend realizes this, which is why he wants you to leave."
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Baxter
Diamond Dogs
High Templar Winter Wolf
"Wars are not won by the weak-willed."
Posts: 238
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Post by Baxter on Dec 1, 2012 11:20:34 GMT -5
Baxter watched the dog playing around with the fire, confused by what it meant until he realized its implication. The dog was a flame bearer. Baxter watched the dog carefully, a creeping feeling emerging in his stomach. He was sitting next to a dog that served a dragon. He was taking lessons from a dog that served a dragon. He could feel his claws curl into the rim of the bench they were sitting on, but otherwise kept still.
"Don't mention chess," he said flatly after the dog had finished. He was less shocked that the dog had finally decided to talk and more focused on what it was he had said. "And what makes you so sure of yourself? How do you even know who my friend is?" The passive sociability that was in his voice a few seconds ago had been replaced by distrust and distaste. Baxter didn't trust Sharp, but he sure as heck didn't trust a flame bearer.
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Post by Red Charge on Dec 1, 2012 11:27:44 GMT -5
"I know a great many deal of things, it's my job to observe this so called invasion. Your friend is the Winter Wolf general. Ice Fang. He is heading towards his death. The ponies will not suffer long in silence and he knows it." The hooded dog got up to his feet, "If your invasion fails, it will have no consequences. Diamond Dog lives are not a statistic that affects the goal of what is going on."
"You would do best to leave before things get ugly." He finished, beginning to walk away, his arrows already collected and in his quiver.
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Baxter
Diamond Dogs
High Templar Winter Wolf
"Wars are not won by the weak-willed."
Posts: 238
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Post by Baxter on Dec 1, 2012 11:46:26 GMT -5
Baxter stared at the dog in confused anger. He was leaving behind more questions than answers. And what he said about Ice Fang, how he was headed towards his death, particularly left him unsettled. "What are you saying? What is this about?" Baxter watched the dog beginning to walk away, not ready for him to leave yet.
"You're that rat from the dragon council, aren't you? Why should I even believe you?" But despite what he said, the dog's words left Baxter apprehensive. Ice Fang marching towards his death, Sharp using the entire invasion as some means to an end, these possibilities didn't sit well with him.
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