83: Practice Makes Perfect

Practice Makes Perfect

~Nobody's POV~1

The next morning, Sara was gradually woken up by the delicious scent of an early morning breakfast. Slowly rolling over onto her back, the sight that greeted the girl was almost comical.

Spit-roasted over the campfire was a wild boar, decently cooked albeit with a few burnt marks in certain areas due to a certain amount of inexperience. However, for the most part, her stomach growled hungrily as she nearly drooled at the large meal ahead practically asking to be eaten.

"Hey, you, you're finally awake." A familiar voice rang out in the forest, which was followed by a brief chuckle. While she didn't hear it, the voice also stated, "I always wanted to say that..." in a quiet murmur at the end.

Curiously glancing around, Sara eventually locked eyes with Dante as he walked back into the campsite with another pile of wood in his arms, most likely in order to maintain the fire. For a moment, her eyes looked away once she noticed that he was still lacking a shirt, but decided against it when she realized that they were going to be traveling with one another for a long time.

Might as well have some eye candy while I'm at it, Sara thought with her inner voice. However, thoughts of the night before came back up to the surface, which quickly got rid of her suggestive frame of mind.

Noticing the change in her expression after he set his pile of wood down onto the ground, Dante gave the girl a look of concern. "Is something the matter?" Crouching down to her eye-level, he gently pat her head as a form of comfort as she opened her mouth.

"I was just thinking about what happened last night." Sara muttered, lowering her head in a grave manner. When she got nothing but silence in return after a couple of seconds passed by, the blonde took a curious glimpse up at Dante's face only to discern that it was filled with grief. "...It was a massacre, wasn't it?"

Abruptly rising to his feet, Dante turned around and walked over to the campfire before starting the process of cutting it up into pieces with a knife that he seemed to always carry around with him. "Get over here, it's about that time we had some breakfast." He said, somewhat of a forced smile on his face. Frowning for just a moment, confused as to why he suddenly changed the subject, Sara decided against bringing the topic back up so that she wouldn't somehow upset him even further.

"O-Okay... thank you for the meal."

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After the two of them had finished eating, Sara once again focused on Dante as he got up and walked over to a random tree, pulling out what appeared to be a makeshift bow. Reaching behind the tree for the second and last time, he also revealed a dozen crudely-made arrows that didn't look very suitable for effective use in combat.

Deciding to voice a question that had been on her mind for a while, she pointed towards the animal that they just got done eating a part of. "How did you even catch that thing? Was it with the bow in your hand?" Sara inquired, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.

Shaking his head in the negative, Dante handed the bow and arrows to her before telling the truth. "Nah, I just used a snare trap." Tilting her head to the side at that, she displayed a look of confusion. "A... snare trap? What's that?"

Chuckling to himself, Dante shook his head for a second time. "I'll explain it to you later. For now, I'm going to see if you have any sort of potential in archery."

Her blue eyes slightly widening, Sara glanced at the bow and arrows held in her arms with a bit of scrutiny. "Do you even know how to use one? Plus, wouldn't it be better if I was taught swordsmanship?" The girl asked, motioning towards the items currently in her possession as the two of them walked through the forest before reaching an empty field surrounded by thick trees. "I've never even seen an official archer walking around since it's just not all that effective to contend with the other weapon classes."

A small grin gradually crawled onto Dante's face as he listened to Sara's acceptable questions, actually somewhat agreeing with the girl. However, the black haired boy needed to go through with what he thought was best for her.

"I'm just going to answer your questions in chronological order. First off, while I have a sword in my possession, I also have a little bit of experience with archery. I... taught myself. My mother never knew of it though." Dante said, twisting the truth for what felt like the hundredth time. "The reason that swordsmanship appears to be used so much more by others... Well, I suppose it could be a multitude of different things. Keep in mind, this is my personal opinion, so I'll just give you an example of what I think."

Nodding her head, she could easily accept that.

Dante made her nock an arrow in the process and aim the bow at a spot on a tree which had a carving of a target, likely made with the knife that he always kept with him. "Nearly anyone could pick up a random sword and begin swinging it around like a caveman with a wooden club, unrefined and crass with each movement that they made." Dante explained, motioning for her to draw back and prepare a shot. "It's just always been one of the most popular weapons to choose from simply because of how brutish it is compared to something like the bow and arrow."

Letting the arrow fly, it soared through the air before whizzing past the tree completely and into the background, sinking itself in the dirt at the end. Sara immediately turned to Dante, a bewildered expression on her face. Standing next to her with a face full of amusement, he finished off his explanation with a chuckle. "Archery requires a lot of things, and one of those requirements is patience, which is a very important characteristic for an individual to possess, especially in a martial art like this one. However, most people just aren't willing to or aren't capable of going through with such a frustrating commitment."

Sara couldn't help but roll her eyes a bit, sarcasm leaking through her voice as she motioned towards the unblemished target. "Well, as you can see, it's clear that I'm not going to be very good as an archer."

Leaning down to accommodate for their slight height difference, Dante gently patted the girl's head in a comforting manner. "While you may not see your potential, I still do." Breathing out a sigh indicative of mild irritation, Sara reluctantly nocked another arrow when I told her to, drawing back the bowstring as I corrected the girl's posture every once in a while.

'Practice makes perfect...' Dante thought to himself, somewhat thankful for the distraction that his newfound companion unintentionally provided for him.

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