The hot summer air was beginning to get to her. Even under the cool shade of the trees the heat and humidity rose up to play havoc with her hair. A thin line of perspiration was running across her brow, and she had to keep rubbing her hands on her pants to keep them dry. Sweaty hands would most certainly lead to an unsteady shot, and with some of the animals of the forest, you only got one chance at it. Still, she hummed on with her ditty both willing the sun to go down and stay up.
Maybe if she'd been paying more attention she would've noticed the sound of hooves beating at the forest path instead of just seeing the blur of motion through the brush. But as it stood, all Arja could think was that she'd finally get to hit something and then get out of the sodding tree. And a deer was severals steps above a damn rabbit. Ceasing her song, she took up her crossbow and began the delicate process of aiming while staying balanced on her perch.
The worn wood of the bow stock felt familiar in her hand and the amount of strength it took to lock in a bolt no longer gave her pause. It was almost a mechanical motion born from muscle memory. Raising up the bow, she sighted down toward the path, waiting for the deer to come into view. By the blur it'd made, it was moving fast, maybe on the run from some other predator? Bad day for the deer.
When the beast finally came into view, Arja gave a squeak of alarmed surprise as her finger jerked on the trigger. The bolt was sent flying, wider and off the mark due to her being caught off guard and jostled. It was, in fact, not a deer that had been her target but a horse and rider. And while it was going to suck when she explained to the hunters that she hadn't caught a damn thing, it would have been even more of a headache to explain how she'd accidentally killed someone's mount.
"Sorry!!! Sorry sorry sorry!!!" With a near panic straining her voice, Arja began the climb down the vine ladder she'd used to get into the tree. With a speed that was quite swift for a woman of her size, she scrambled down to the forest floor and prepared to apologize some more. "Sorry." She said once more slightly out of breath.