♖ forest

@Jeon Hyosung "Yes, like this always - unless you're in a physical position where you can't have the perfect stance." She paused for a moment, not wanting to discourage the princess. "Though, with enough practice, firing at that, and any, point should be a breeze."

Nodding as the princess explained her predicament, Sojin spoke again. "You are doing fine. It is typically done by preference. If you wish to focus your sight to your dominant eye, then you may. If not, then so be it." After waiting for the other to adjust herself to her own preference, she cleared and began to explain the next steps. "Now, if you are comfortable with your hold and view, you should draw the drawstring back toward your face. A lot of this tension should come from your shoulder muscles," she explained softly, putting a hand on the princess's back to indicate where she should feel the pull. "Your arm should stay as relaxed as possible, achieve this by lifting your elbow up. As you pull, pull until the bow feels tight, this increases accuracy and cuts through the effects of gravity and wind just a bit. When doing this, use your chin or ear as a future reference point for where that tight point is. That way, you'll pull the drawstring to the same point every time."

She waited for the princess to draw her bow, laughing a bit as she felt to excitement emanating from the old woman. "Now, aim at your target. You can use instinctive shooting, where the tip of the arrow lines up with your target and this is the time when you decide if you want to use your dominant eye or both. Using your dominant eye, of course, tends to mean a clearer view down the arrow and to the target."

@Jang Sojin "So alike this always?" The princess hummed as she adjusted into position and bit her lower lip as she tried to keep in mind every detail in the position she had at the moment and also tried to not forget what she had learned before, which in conjunction to everything would finally have her ready -- Or so she assumed. She knew that activities alike these were a fine art, but she never imagined it to call for so much discipline and detail. Simply magnificent!

"I can. But I have only one eye focused on it as the other is closed, miss. First because I seem to have notice others doing this, but also because if looking with both, I see two arrows for how close I am. Maybe my head is also needed adjustment or I am already doing this correctly?" She questioned, just to be sure and kept the pose, even if excitement warmed up her blood alike a bonfire.

@Jeon Hyosung Smiling softly, Sojin shook her head. "It's alright, you now know." she assured the other woman before watching as she adjusted her hold on the arrow. Humming in approval of the way she did it, she shifted her gaze around as she thought of the next course of action - or, at least how to explain it in a way a novice would understand.

"Alright, your highness...actual firing starts with pointing and engaging the weapon. First, keeping those same fingers on the drawstring, raise your bow and hold it out toward the target. Your inner elbow should be parallel to the ground and the bow should always remain vertical." she set down her own bow since it was useless at the moment and stepped forward to gentle adjust the princess's arms accordingly. She continued speaking, at a lower tone - almost a murmur since they were so physically close at this point. "If held properly, you should be able to look straight down the spine of the arrow. Can you?"

@Jang Sojin "Oh, I am sorry. I suppose that I am too excited." Hyosung's cheeks turned into a reddish taint and a small smile graced her lips, revealing how shy she was to admit it, but along with the nibble on her lower lip right after, one could see that she was frustrated with herself. She should wait for what lady Sojin would explain!
"Three fingers?" The female's eyes flickered towards her hold, the other female and adjusted accordingly, or so she supposed. "Alike this, miss?" She questioned and gasped in amazement as the other made her own arrow fly across the path, which made her speed up. She was excited for this, yet, this time around she would wait.
"Yes, I shall wait for your blessing, before I send this broken arrow across the land!" Hyosung agreed with a small nod.

@Jeon Hyosung "Don't be so quick to aim, princess." Sojin said, slight exasperation in her voice as the princess raised the weapon prematurely once again. "The way you're holding the arrow in place has everything to do with how successfully it is loosed as well as if you accidentally injure one of us. The arrow may be broken, but it is still lethal at the right speed."
She hoped she wasn't sounding too harsh, but her being blunt was the only way to get the point across quickly. She quietly observed the way the princess was holding the arrow, trying to determine why it looked wrong until she finally figured it out, letting out a soft 'ah'. "Hold the arrow to the string with three fingers - index above it, middle and ring fingers below and use your thumb to hold it steady." She waited for the other to do as instructed before nodding.
"Perfect. Now," she started raising her own loaded weapon and shooting it toward the target before turning to the princess. "Now, after much anticipation, I can show you how to do that" she said with a bit of humor in her voice. "This time, please only do as I instruct."

@Jang Sojin "I am pleased to know that, dear Sojin. This means that I don't give you too much work." Hyosung smiled more widely this time, as her chest inflated with how proud she felt.
"Indeed, but I'll try to keep the rules to pratique even with the moving targets." The princess nodded and hummed as she wondering if there was a way for them or herself later on -- to train with moving targets, so to see how different it was in that setting.
"Alike this?" Along the demonstration and the others' words, the female tried to again mimic the movements to her best capacities, while keeping her legs position and tried to keep the position as she tried to point directly bulls-eye towards the target.

@Jeon Hyosung Seeing that she hadn't moved even an inch, a grin grew on Sojin's face and she applauded her lightly, moving her own bow to the crook of her arm to do so. "You are quite the quick learner!" she praised briefly before returning the weapon to her hand and getting into her own position so she could demonstrate. "Okay, when it comes to holding the bow, things are almost similar. By that, I mean you want a good grip on it, but you don't want to choke on it or anything." she started. "Ah! One more thing on stance: you want to be perpendicular to your target if at all possible. I know you're doing this with the idea of moving targets, so that may not always be possible, but for now, keep it in mind since our target is static." she said, gesturing to the target she'd fashioned with a board of wood and some paint. "Anyway, when loading the arrow, you want to point the bow downward and place the arrow's shaft on the arrow rest. The arrow's fletching feathers should be below the nock bead." She demonstrated this as well, going fairly slowly and step-by-step so that the princess could follow along as instructed.

@Jang Sojin Hyosung didn't nudge this time around and this made a smile form within her expression. She was feeling excited that she was already getting the basics, or at least the position herself, before she could start practicing and soon enough, with some luck and lots of hard work, she could be able to use the skills.
"How about the position within my arms as I hold the bow, dear? Is it the correct position or it still needs a tweak or two?" Hyosung questioned as she maintained the leg position, the arms as she had by the start, yet with quite the firm grip to go along with it and again tilted her head slightly to the side as she closed one eye.

@Jeon Hyosung "Precisely." Sojin said with a firm nod. "You'll be able to stand just a firm soon enough, your highness." She waited for Hyosung to adjust her position, glancing briefly over to her horse to make sure he and her messenger bird were fairing well. Satisfied that they were alright, she turned back to the other woman to find her just finishing up her adjustments. She could already see how much more rooted the other looked and had a feeling that this would be the last trail for the stance. She was sure they'd be moving on to actual archery soon enough. She nodded at the request for another push and approached in the same way, delivering the same firm nudge as before.

@Jang Sojin "Indeed! I think that even with all my strength, I wouldn't be able to move you from your position. I wish to also manage the same results!" The female smiles and tries her best to absorb all information, so she learned the skill well and could use it on any future combats, if ever.
As expected, for the first time, the female did move a little due to the push, but now with the newer information, she returned to position herself -- Favored her dominant feet and arm, which she positioned along the arch again and once feeling ready, she nodded and turned her head towards the other.
"Again, please?" She requested for another push, so to see if the adjustments were correct this time around. She wanted to be able to get this down before she could try to actually try to make the arrow fly, which she also guessed that could take some time till she got it right.

@Jeon Hyosung "Exactly." Sojin nodded. She couldn't help but smile at how politely the princess approached the pushing and a chuckle escaped her lips at the marveled gasp that came from the older woman. "I'm almost akin to a rock, no? That's how you should be as well."

"Right. You just be firm but able to move quickly if the need arises. And the foot on the same side as your dominant hand should be in front, of course. Also, keep in mind that your legs should be firm but not locked.You do not want to lock your knees or else, you may." As she instructed, she walked around the princess to see how she stood from every side, just to make sure it was right. Hearing the request to push her as well, Sojin nodded. "Very well." She placed her hand on the princess's shoulder, pushing just enough to get her to move if she were unstable. She didn't want to use full force and knock Hyosung completely over, just enough to make her stumble.

@Jang Sojin "Oh, all right." Hyosung nodded, glancing at the other, waiting for more explanations for her to perhaps be able to see the original position again, while she now lowered the bow, but tried to keep her position.
"I understand, the arrow wouldn't fly as well as I would wish to." The princes nodded as she gasped, and walked up to the other with one hand raised. "I see" She approached. "Here we go, excuse me." The female pushed the other so to prove the theory and again gasped allowed. She was marveled.

"The feet should by by that exact manner?" She tried to again do the same position, not caring to lift the arrow in position, just to see if she was secure by the ground and even adjusted herself slightly, until she thought to have stability. "Alike this? Please also push me so I can see if I feel the same as I felt when pushing you, dear." She requested with a shy smile.

@Jeon Hyosung Sojin merely tipped her head in a quick nod, humming in acknowledgement of the princess initial thank you. It was abundantly clear that the recent events had affected both of them in completely different ways. She had grown up a bit more and become a bit more cold; on the other hand, Hyosung seemed to have crumbled under the weight of everything. "You're welcome" she finally responded, offering a small smile

She stood back a bit to watch the princess get into formation and shook her head, shifting to face the princess fully. "For now just focus on your stance, not the bow" Sojin informed, placing a hand on the other's dominant bow hand in a gesture for her to lower the weapon. She furrowed her brow slightly, trying to figure out how to word her next directions. It was a lot harder teaching someone to whom you were meant to show high formality to. "It's not enough to just mimic the correct position, you actually have to stand firm. You must be an unmovable object because if you can be moved, your target can be thrown off. Here," she said, standing back in the initial position. "Try pushing me"

@Jang Sojin "In my eyes, no one is lower than me. I am just a girl with a broken heart, but willing to fight for her country and honor of her kingdom and I am thankful that for once I wasn't a reason for a good laugh. I thank you for that as well, aside for that fact that you're willing to teach me, dear. Thank you." Hyosung adjusted her composure and posture with the help of the latter's hand and nodded once seeing the backup weapon the female had at hand.

From there, the princess observed the graceful manner the other handled the bow, carefully studied the angle the other aligned her body to it and nodded along to the explanation, which she right after tried to imitate.
With a roll back of her shoulders, the straightened up her back properly, rose the beast in hands and aligned it at best she could to the target and with two fingers between the tip of the broken arrow, she stretched the bow's elastic with the remaining fingers from that hand and closed one eye for adjustments: just so she was sure to keep the arrow in a line she supposed to be close to what she imagined to be the right angle and so she could somehow have a better perception if the she was aligned to it in a proper manner.
After this, she finally made the support necessary with her feet, after a quick glance at the other female's own feet, before her eyes flickered back up to her face.
"Like this, dear?" She questioned, wanting to now if she had understood.

@Jeon Hyosung She had already agreed to share what she knew, so Sojin wasn't exactly sure why the princess was still pleading and tossing compliments about like a baron at gathering of of viceroys. Still, she stayed silent, listening to everything that had to be said. She couldn't help but feel bad for Hyosung. She looked right pitiful and it had to be horribly embarrassing for someone as high up as she to come asking for the help of someone like her. She felt even worse, seeing the unshed tears in the other's eyes. Sure, she was going through a rough time, but she couldn't even imagine what it was like for the other.

Sighing, Sojin reached forward with her free hand to guide the princess into standing upright. "You shouldn't bow to someone of lower nobility than you, your highness. It's unbecoming and I already agreed to help you." she stated before turning on her heel and heading to where her horse was to find the extra bow she'd packed. It wasn't nearly as nice as hers, a backup more than anything else, but if the princess truly wanted to learn, she'd have to deal with it. Finding the bow in the larger of her steed's side pouches, she approached Hyosung once again, holding the weapon out to her.

"First, you need to know proper grip and stance" she said, not wasting any time as she grabbed one of the arrows from her pouch. Stepping on it at an angle, just above where the iron and the wood met, she broke off the arrow, for her own and for Juniper's preservation. There was no need to pretend - she didn't trust the princess's skills skill quite yet. Presenting the broken arrow to the other, she produced one for her own bow. "To start, you must line your body up perpendicular to the target, making sure your back is straight and your feet are shoulder-width apart," she explained, using her own body as an example.

@Jang Sojin "Yes, dear. But you surely know more than I and all tips and tricks for more small they are, still always serve propose. We could thus perhaps train together or I could just observe and learn some, also, I am sure that you're just being humble about your capacities. I took notice of how you were positioned and you seemed about to hit a target with precision." The princess complemented the other royal beauty.

"Yet, again, if not comfortable to land me the object in hands, I can just observe you and perhaps make a few questions, if you feel like you would be able to respond. I just needed company, to stay away from the castle for once and to prepare. I can feel like something is coming our way and I won't wait for the moment that the sickness also gets to me. Not only do I want the chance to continue to family's line somehow, if landing myself with anyone fit for a proper husband, but I also want to defend the honor of our kingdom and land. The knights might be having a good laugh behind my back, but that is a promise. I won't stand still for as long as someone hurts our people." Hyosung's eyes glinted with emotion and her heart felt heavy for all the thing that had been happening, but she wouldn't give up on the idea.

"So please miss Sojin, at least grace me with the sight of your training, I beg of you." The brunette again bowed and containing any tears her eyes dared to form by the corners of her eyes, as she needed to be strong now.

@Jeon Hyosung Sojin's brows furrowed - she was still stuck on the princess's word choice. What "quest" did she mean if she wasn't referring to that? She snapped herself out of it, however, when she realized that Hyosung was still speaking. Particularly, the mention of her late best friend caught her attention and she felt a pang in her chest. Absentmindedly reaching up to clutch the necklace that lay beneath the fabric of her shirt, she listened to what the older woman had to say. She hadn't heard any rumors herself, since she'd been avoiding the capital at all costs, but she did have a bad feeling that a storm was brewing - she'd been feeling that way for the past few months, in fact.

"As you wish, your highness" she responded after a few beats of silence between the two, shifting on her feet as she realized she was still in position to shoot an arrow, rather than have a conversation. "I must confess, however, I am no expert. I'm still learning myself." Sojin wasn't exactly sure what she was getting herself into, but the monarch seems so uneasy, so /afraid/, that it wouldn't sit well with her to just turn her away if she had some knowledge to share. She wasn't the best teacher either; as a quick learner herself, she was often ready to move on after a single demonstration. She made a mental note to herself to pace herself for the other's sake. She was mostly glad that she wasn't the only one with an pit of unease settling in her gut.

@Jang Sojin "I am sorry if I startled you, dear." Hyosung apologized, realizing that the other could had lost target, for how the arrow seemed to take a turn instead of gracefully flying across land towards it's target in a pristine line cutting through the air.
"I am not referencing to that, although I do have plans to flee." The elder female glanced around and decided to share her ideas. "Ever since my niece perished, I can't seem to take this thoughts off my mind. My mother is on her deathbed, I also have heard rumors about one of my brothers and I am thinking that I might be next, so I must be ready." She whispered and felt her heart thundering, for the fear she felt that someone could be hearing when when assumed to be alone with the other.

"I can't share more details about my future plans, but besides advising you to also take your time away and perhaps find a way to keep yours truly safe, I came in so to request you to teach me what you know. I might have everyone always keeping me safe, but I suppose that I'll need some strength of my own and knowing a few things alike archery. -- If you do agree to teach me, of course." Hyosung bowed, so to show her respect and for the other to know that she was pleading.
Before, she also requested a few warriors from the kingdom with some status and skill, to teach her what they knew, but they all shrugged her off, assuming that she was just playing or that the lack of a husband on her age was somehow affecting her thoughts -- which she obviously thought to be all gibberish. She knew what she was talking. A dark era was approaching and instead of laughing their heads off to her words, they should cover their necks instead.

@Jeon Hyosung "Don't stay away too long, dear. Your father and I are having an important guest over for supper in a few days and we want you to be there as well." Sojin's mother informed as she watched her daughter prepare her horse for riding. The 19-year-old hummed in acknowledgement as she carried the heavy saddle over to her Arabian and tossed it up onto his back, used to the conversations her mother liked to have as she prepared to leave. "Sojin." her mother called sternly, noticing her daughter's lack of attention. The girl sighed and finished latching the saddle into place, turning fully to face her mother.

"I will be back by nightfall tomorrow." she said, looking the elder woman in the eyes; a small smile found its way onto her lips. "I'm just going out to practice. I promise. I don't actually leave for anywhere far for another week." The elder fixed a scrutinizing gaze on her daughter before sighing in resignation and approaching the girl to lay a kiss upon her forehead. "Very well. Be careful, my sweet."

~

Hours later, Sojin found herself deep in the forest connecting her home of Penrith and the Tradian capital - in a clearing that she favored for practice. Her horse, Juniper, stood off to the side, grazing on the patch of grass that she had set him up near. She, on the other hand, was focus on making this shot. Her gaze was focus on the target, meters away, and her fingers deftly gripped the bow and arrow in them. She was just about too loose the arrow toward her target when she heard a voice call out her name. It startled her enough that she lost focus, sending the arrow into the tree a few feet behind the wooden target she'd fashioned. She lowered her bow and turned to source of the voice, her eyes widening to find Princess Hyosung.

"You're highness!" she greeted, still a bit shocked, bowing nevertheless. "What are you doing here?" It took her a moment, but her mind reeled back, registering the older woman's question. "My quest? What ques-" she paused, considering that the princess might have thought her diplomatic trip to a neighboring duchy was some sort of quest. "Your highness, there is no quest. I'm simply going on a journey to meet with one of my father's acquaintances. Besides, I won't be able to keep you safe if you were to go."

@Jang Sojin Hyosung alike most whom knew her niece, needed some time.
The young maiden perished not too long ago, her mother whom made her life a living nightmare also was killed, but despite all the hate was still somehow loved and her brother -- The king himself also was told to be holding by a thread, or perhaps he also already went away and they just decided to save the princess's heart?

Either way, needing a way out and guessing that difficult times would come by, she tried to tag along in any adventures and know more things, she could come to find handy in the future, so she was prepared for any fight.

"Sojin!" She called the later as she waved one hand. "Mind if I join on your quest?" Hyosung plead as she offered a smile.