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My Name is Superboy! (callmesuperboy) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2016-01-07 19:14:00

“Well, then. I may have taught the ceiling a lesson.”
Who: Kate Bishop and Conner Kent
When: December 7
Where: Archery Range
What: Random Encounter/Working out Frustrations
Rating/Warnings: Low/None
Status: Complete


Kate was freaking out just a little bit. She’d gotten out some of the nervous energy drinking with Emma the other night, but there was still more in there. Her father had cut her off financially, which concerned her. Kate was used to living off of her trust fund, not the meager stipend she earned working as an Archery teacher.

She was sitting on the front desk at the range, twirling an arrow between her fingers and around her knuckles. Her eyes were unfocused as she stared off into space, waiting until her next lesson was supposed to start.

Conner had been on a quest to learn what he could do. The other day, randomly, he had learned he could throw things pretty accurately, and it had come up, could he shoot things? While he was not in a hurry to pick up a gun, he thought he might have fun with a bow and arrow. So, here he was, smiling as he stepped into the range, peering around, then back at the woman at the desk.

“Ah, hello, ma’am? I’m Conner Kent, here for an archery lesson?” Or really, to see if he could do it, but, yes. He wore tight fitting jeans and t-shirt, but they were both stretching fabrics, which moved with him, and he thought they would be okay. He hoped so.

Kate glanced up from her daydream and realized there was a guy in the lobby, looking at her. Had he just said something? Was she really so far out of it that she hadn’t noticed her next student coming into the range for his lesson?

“Hmm?” Kate said, eyes a little wide. “What’s that?” (Nice first impression, Kate.)

Conner smiled. “Ah, are you okay? I’m here for the archery lesson?” He was quiet, he knew it, and he hoped he hadn’t made her feel bad by catching her off-guard. No one deserved that. He smiled a little more warmly as he stuck out his hand, approaching the desk closer.

“Conner Kent.”

“Oh. Yes. Sorry. Conner Kent. Right.” Kate couldn’t help the guilt that bubbled up inside her. She hoped she hadn’t made him feel uncomfortable by her being completely… out of it. She’d been thinking about how she was going to have to find a new apartment, and cancel her gym membership… forget about Cable TV. Could she afford Netflix? How could she live without internet?

“I’m Kate Bishop.” She climbed off the desk and took his hand to shake it. “I’ll be your instructor. Have you ever taken archery lessons before?”

Conner smiled, shaking her hand firmly. One part of his healthy libido noted how nice she looked, and how well she filled out her outfit but that was one part buried beneath nervousness and worry. “I… don’t know. I don’t remember doing so.” He swallowed, then admitted slowly. “I, ah, don’t recall anything before three months ago. So… “ He shook his head.

“I’m hoping to find out if my body has any memory of me doing thing, well, by doing, you see?”

Kate shook his hand, then raised an eyebrow at the mention of… amnesia? She cocked her head to the side. “Well, I’m sorry to hear about that.” She motioned for him to follow her into the gym area. They could equip themselves and get started. “I understand. Muscle memory is sometimes stronger than cognitive memory… or whatever.” She opened the door to the gym and led the way in.

“I’m hoping so… or something. Or just that maybe I will discover something new. I was apparently a really good pilot and gunner, but I recall none of that.”

Conner shrugged, and followed her, peering around the gym. “And well, bows and arrows sound like something I could… when I went to a store… I saw a handmade one and the feel of it… it was… I liked it.” He had an almost dreamy look in his eyes, and sound in his voice as he spoke of it. He remembered the feel of it in his hands, and the way it felt just… right

“Well, we can try out a bunch of things and see if anything sticks.” Kate said. Hey, she was game. It was his dime, really. Though, she got paid by the Archery Range, not the student, so she was sort of up for anything. “You found a handmade bow at a store? What store was this? Sounds like a great story.”

Conner smiled and bounced, arching an eyebrow. “An old antiques store, it was in a locked trunk.” He chuckled. “I was bored in the hospital, so I studied how to pick locks, fantasizing of making a break for the doors.” He shook his head.

“Wow.” Kate was impressed. “I can’t pick a lock to save my life. But that’s an interesting skill to have, I bet.” She wondered for a moment why he was in the hospital, but it wasn’t her business. “All right, come on over here and get equipped.”

“I hope I never need it. I mean, after this, anyway.” He chuckled. Conner wasn’t sure why he had wanted to learn, but he had, so he did. He was good at learning things, and fast. He had been since awakening in the hospital. Otherwise, he would still be there.

Conner followed her. “Lead on chief. Say, do you know anyone who gives motorcycle or parajump lessons?”

“No. But I can put some feelers out. Are you on Valarnet?” Kate asked, moving to the closet where they kept the bows and arrows and stuff. She helped him select one that would work for his height, and then gave him a handful of arrows. There were bins next to waist-high posts in the floor, about twenty feet or so from targets across the gym. Kate motioned for him to take the arrows over there and put them in the bin. Then she grabbed a bow for herself from the rack.

“I am, yes.” He smiled as he got a bow, and some arrows. The bow felt good in his hands, even if not quite as good as the handmade one had felt. Settling the arrows in, he nodded. “Okay, so what the heck do I do?” He chuckled. He wanted to learn from the ground up.

Conner smiled at this woman. She seemed to know what she was doing.

Kate absolutely knew what she was doing. She worked her way through all the terms they’d use, describing what the different tools were called. Bow, arrow, strings, target, they all had special names. Though the layman’s terms were good enough. She talked about how to hold the bow, showing him specifically, and how to draw the string. Then she talked about how the arrow would fly. After a few minutes of talking, she asked if he was ready to take his first shot.

“It’s okay if the first one doesn’t hit the target,” she explained.

Conner swallowed, listening to the whole spiel, then nodded, and took each thing quietly and slowly. He got ready as she had shown him, lined up arrow and target, and even took long deep breaths. And then… he completely missed. Conner stared, then laughed.

“Welp. One down.” He felt a kind of relief as he shook his head, then looked at her. “Any tips?” He nonetheless, started lining up a new shot on his own, more than willing to listen as he did so.

Kate grinned. She tugged on her fingerless gloves, nodding. She’d expected that. Unless someone had some sort of supernatural talent or something, most people did a lot of missing. Or hitting the target--just far away from where they’d intended.

“Hey, that’s totally normal. You’ll figure it out. I do have a few tips.” She stepped forward to adjust his stance, to tip up his chin with a press of her fingers, and to loosen his arms with a little shake. “Try it again.”

Conner smiled, and nodded. “Thanks. You make this easier. Your confidence, I mean.” He closed his eyes, and breathed in and out, slowly, and let her adjust how he stood and how he held himself. Her touch was professional, and he found himself acutely aware of her closeness, of her weight and shift. It was like his mind came alive to the very feel of her being there, and he felt every touch, every correction.

And he kept breathing in and out, slowly but surely, letting himself fall into the exercises they taught him at the hospital, and lifted the bow. His eyes came open, sighting along the shaft, trying to aim at the target, trying to feel what she had done, and then he loosed.

And this time planted an arrow feathers deep in the ceiling.

Conner stared, then a snerk escaped his throat, and a chuckle. “Well, then. I may have taught the ceiling a lesson.”

Kate shrugged one shoulder, smirking softly. She had a lot of confidence, that was true. Though, there were other things she lacked sometimes. And she was a little distracted by her financial situation at the moment. But it wasn't too bad.

She watched him carefully as he breathed slowly, lifting the bow, taking aim... and shot straight into the ceiling. Somehow.

With a laugh, Kate shook her head. "I'm not sure the ceiling deserved it." She said, and stepped forward to get a closer look. "I guess I'll be getting the ladder out later." She grinned softly. "Hey, you put some force behind that shot." It'd sunk deep.

Conner squinted up at the ceiling. “If you have it around, I can get it down? As an apology?” He smiled uncertainly at her and at the arrow. “How the heck did I do that?”

He looked down at the bow in wonder.

“Don’t worry about it.” Kate said, eyes on the arrow in the ceiling. “It’s really okay. It’ll give me something to do later.” She gave him a smile. “Let’s see if we can’t repeat that phenomenon.” And she motioned for him to try again.

Conner chuckled and started over. This time, he actually managed to hit the target, even if it was on one corner, and fell off almost as soon as it hit. “Hey! That almost actually was a hit… kind of.”

“You’re improving!” Kate gave him a bright grin. “And it’s all thanks to my amazing teaching skills,” she teased. “Try it again. It might take you a while to get to the center of the target, but I’m sure you’ll be improving with every shot. Make sure to breathe out slow, keep your feet apart. Just like that. Try again.”

Conner nodded, then hesitated. “Can you show me the way you spaced my hands again?” He asked her, referring to how she had shown him. He would try, and maybe get a little better, each time.

“And thanks, by the way, this is pretty cool.”

Nodding, Kate moved closer to her student to help him with his stance. Feet a little further apart, one in front of the other, and hands positioned just so on the bow. “Here, I think this will work best for you. Though, we can adjust if necessary. How’s it feel? Are you balanced?”

Conner listened, and let her move him just so, then nodded. “It feels well balanced, I think?” Everything felt lined up, so to speak. When she was back in her place, and he in his, he slowly drew, and then fired. And the arrow hit into the target. Not anywhere near the center, but, yes.

Conner let out a whoop and grinned at Kate. “Awesome! You are great at this!”

Kate beamed again. This guy was really enthusiastic, she appreciated that. She didn't have a whole lot of energy lately to throw into excitement. “You're picking it up quick. You want to go again?” She estimated they should be able to get his arrow even closer to the center before he left today.

“Sure! I am definitely up for that.” And he set about getting ready again, sure now that he could learn this with a teacher that had the skills she had. This was awesome!

~FIN~