Ranged

          Tuipa, Reioi and Rivhild are nearing a town. A loud explosion goes off in the distance, in the direction of the town. Rivhild gets ready to run before Reioi stops her. "That was a controlled explosion, you don't need to worry about large noises here. I've only been to this town a few times when I was younger, but boy is it memorable."

When the three get closer, a couple of guys walk by and stare at Rivhild with almost distasteful looks. Tuipa leans in and whispers to Reioi. "Hey, how do people feel about other folks in this town?"

Reioi breaths in sharply. "Ooh, I never paid attention to that."

The town’s gate comes fully in view, the sign above it reads; ‘Ranged Town’. Two guards stand on either side of the gate, a man and a woman. The man sees them approaching and pulls out a bunch of papers tied together by a string. He begins flipping through as the woman guard stops them. “Where are you three coming from?” She asks gruffly.

“We just came from Rohisia City. Tuipa and I are from Bloshaino Village.” Reioi answers, then immediately regrets not saying Rivhild is from the same village.

The guard narrows her eyes at the winged girl. “Hmm, white dress with pink and gold accents, wings.” Her stare meets Reioi and Tuipa. “Let me guess with this one, her mother was nobility, who kidnapped by one of the few male harpies, was rescued but still had the harpy man’s child, which the little girl right there. The child was pampered for a while, but was seen as a rotten branch on the family tree so she was kicked out?”

“Uh, yes.” Tuipa decides to go along with the story the guard made up. “Because male harpies are the only ones who can make hybrids. So yes, that is one hundred percent true, you are really good at reading people’s stories. Rivhild here, is my distant cousin, we were asked to pick her up in Rohisia City and take her back home with us.”

“Ah I see, so they didn’t outright abandon the child.” The guard then turns to the one that was flipping through the papers. “These aren’t criminals are they?”

“Nope. They aren’t wanted, they are all good to enter.” The other guards nods and puts his papers away. He then pulls out a ledger. “I just need your first and last names.” He gets a pen ready to write.

“I am Reioi Bluebell.” Reioi starts.

“I’m Tuipa Mint and this here is Rivhild…Maplegrove.” The ginger haired woman lies.

“Huh, Maplegrove? I once new a man with the surname Maplegrove when I was a boy. Used to be a regular at my family’s shop.” The man comments.

“Oh, that might have been my great uncle, my grandfather said he had an affinity for ranged weapons.” Tuipa says with a smile.

The trio are allowed to enter into the town without any issues. Once inside, they are met with a bustling street filled with shops, each one specializing in different ranged weapons, varying from bows, to slingshots, and guns of all shapes and sizes. Reioi looks down at Rivhild. “Are you interested in getting a weapon? The money the count gave you will cover anything you want here.”

The child thinks for a moment. “Hmm, I’m not sure, can I see how they are used?”

The three then head over to a firing range surrounded by warning signs, where a man is showing off a large gun. “Yes, this is the new and improved version from last year’s model. Four times as better even. This thing can take down a troll in one shot!” He then loads then gun. “As you can see, my kids have set up a stone in the range.” He motions to a stone with a red dot painted on it, behind it is a straw target. “Behold as I shoot straight through the stone and hit the target!” He levels his gun to the stone, which is three meters away, and fires. The bullet pushes through the red dot. The crowd lets out a collective gasp. They then move around to the side of the range to see if the bullet hit the target. It did not, the bullet was still in the stone. The crowd leaves with disappointment.

As the trio leaves, Rivhild looks up at Reioi. “I don’t think I want to have a gun.” She tells her.

“That’s perfectly fine, why don’t we look at some bows, I think they more match your vibe.” Reioi pats Rivhild’s back.

The three soon find themselves in a shop that specializes in bows. Rivhild looks curiously at the art and photographs of people holding bows. The clerk at the desk speaks to Rivhild as she unknowingly approaches. “Well, hey there little lady. You looking for your first bow?” He asks.

“I’m not sure if I want a bow, but I’d like to check them out.” Rivhild tells him as she puts her arms behind her back and shifts on and off her tippy toes.

“Why don’t I try to match you with one, and you can see if you like they way it feels in your hands.” The clerk offers.

“Sure.” Rivhild shrugs.

“Well then, do you know which eye is your dominant one?” He questions. The child shakes her head. “Oh, then let’s change that.” He puts up his hands. “Make a triangle with your hands like this, stretch your arms out, look at my face. Close your left eye, now open your left eye. Close your right eye, and open again. When did my face move out of the triangle?"

Rivhild puts down her arms. "When I closed my left eye."

"Ah you're a leftie then." The clerk moves out from behind the counter and motions for Rivhild to follow. "Come over here, the kids' bows are over here." He then starts checking the labels on the barrels that line the wall as he passes each one. He stops and pulls out a bow from the bin he was looking for. “Ah, here we are, this one should work for ya.” He hands the bow to Rivhild.

The young goddess tests the weight of the bow in her hand. She looks up at the clerk. “How do I use this?”

The clerk looks to Reioi and Tuipa, “I have a range out back if you three want to come so the little one can try out the bow?” He asks the women.

Soon they are outside behind the shop, the clerk is teaching Rivhild how to shoot the bow. “Alright, when you are ready to shoot, just exhale and release the string.” He instructs.

Rivhild let’s go of the string and the arrow flies through the air and hits the target. It’s not a bullseye, but it was still a great shot. The child looks at where her arrow landed. “Can I try again?” The clerk nods and hands her another arrow. Rivhild puts the arrow in position, pulls back, watches the target and exhales, the arrow lands closer to the center of the target. “I did better.” She smiles.

The clerk also smiles. “You’re quite the natural. You’ll be hitting bullseyes in no time.”

The four then head back inside for Rivhild to pay. The clerk writes in his book. “Alright, so with the bow you get five free arrows and a small quiver. That comes to, ten silver pieces.” Rivhild opens her pouch and puts a gold coin on the counter, then another. “Whoa, whoa there. Those are gold pieces, one of those are worth ten silver pieces, so I’ll only need one of them.”

“Oh, okay.” Rivhild takes the second coin back and pushes the first towards the clerk.

The three exit the shop. Tuipa then speaks up. “Should we ask Chimes if he wants anything?”

“Yeah!” Rivhild agrees enthusiastically.

“But we should summon him in some place more private. Magic is illegal.” She reminds her companions.

The three slip into an ally and Rivhild summons her angel. She shows her bow to Chimes. “Look what I got!”

“Oh neat, a bow. I can’t wait to see you use it!” Chimes purrs.

“You should see if there are any weapons you like.” Tuipa suggests.

As the sun was setting, the angel made his decision. The four of them stand in the gun shop of the man who failed his demonstration earlier that day. “This is the one I want.” Chimes shows off a shotgun.

Reioi hesitates. “Are you sure?” The shop owner starts to sweat.

“Yes.” Chimes doubles down with a smile.

Rivhild then walks up to the shop owner. “How much is it?”

“Uh, twenty silver pieces, comes with ten bullets. Extra bullets come in ten packs and are five silver pieces each.” He answers. Rivhild counts on her fingers before handing him four gold pieces.