3rd - I may be a fool, but I intend to be a live fool.

[princeoftheravens]

Who: Matrim Cauthon and you!
Where: Inside the Nostalgia Nook
When: Morning to Afternoon
Style: [Action!]
Status: Open~!

[Today, Mat's decided to look through all the selections of longbows, and if what he's muttering is any clue, he isn't finding what he's looking for. Only really seeing all the bows on his right doesn't help any.]

Blood and ashes...Too short. And that one feels about to crack... [He reaches for a couple more, lifting them individually before putting them back with a grumble, leaning on his ashandarei a bit.]

Too light. And that one was too heavy. [He turns left to better see the selection, lifting another possible choice before putting it back with a sigh.]

This one's too tall. And all of these probably wouldn't have enough flaming range. [Bother him?]

Comments

[tsundyne]

[Hmm...

Maybe his world isn't quite as technologically advanced then. Japan is pretty crazy about that stuff, but-- well, it doesn't really matter now. She nods.]

Exactly. There's a proficiency exam you have to pass, I think, but I'm not exactly sure how hard it is or anything.

[princeoftheravens]

[He didn't want to use the SFC for a while because he thought it was made by magic. A couple thousand years ago they had hover cars though.

He chuckles.]

Hard enough to make sure you know how to not hurt yourself on accident and can take care of it, most likely. Like what people should do with swords so woolbrained idiots don't cut themselves.

[He puts the gun back, turning toward the polearms, which he just gives a glance to see how well maintained they are. Maybe he should see if Johnny's academy has a gun trainer... It wouldn't do to shoot himself in the foot while trying to see how it works.

Now to look at the bows!]

[tsundyne]

Yeah.

[She has to laugh a little at that. She kind of likes this guy's attitude, but of course, it's only because she definitely doesn't consider herself to be a wool-brained idiot.

She'll just watch him and follow him when he looks towards the bows instead, grateful that they're venturing a little more into her comfort zone.]

My name's Yukari, by the way...what's yours?

[princeoftheravens]

I'm Mat.

[He tips his hat to her a little, a small smile on his face. She doesn't seem like one to Mat, unlike some people here.

Hopefully he isn't proven wrong about that, like he has been before.

Now about those bows...They don't really look like ones he's seen before, not all of them.]

Why are some of these folded up? [Yep, he's never seen a compound bow before.]

[tsundyne]

[She'll file his name away for future reference, then. It's foreign, but it'll at least be kind of easy to remember, so... that's something.

And when she notices him looking at the compound bows, she picks one up.]

Probably to make it easier to hide and carry around. They're a little fancier than most.

[Not all of them can fold, obviously.]

[princeoftheravens]

[If he'd told her his full name, likely it would have been even easier to remember. Mat's more common than Matrim is.

Yukari's name won't be all that hard to remember either.

He tilts his head a little, adjusting his hat.]

So you can hide it on you? The bows I grew up with [What he can remember of them] were taller than the person who uses them. You could always tell when someone was carrying one.

[These compound bows seem like they wouldn't have the same amount of power as a Two Rivers bow, but then most bows don't.

He looks at the ones who aren't folded. Those don't look all that promising either...]

[tsundyne]

[...Ahahaha.

Well, Yukari's pretty strong. But even she can't imagine carrying something taller than herself while running through a place like Tartarus, or the Abyss of time. Granted bows are fairly light, but...still.]

I guess they've gotten smaller over the years. We're all about convenience, where I'm from.

[Always looking for ways to make things smaller, better. More work done for less effort.

It's the same way laptops keep getting smaller and lighter. Cell phones, too. But she doubts he knows what those are...]

[princeoftheravens]

Probably. Seems to me that'd make them a bit less powerful or would make their range shorter. I'm not sure; I'd need to find one that works for me or my friends and get or make a bow like the ones from our world that works for the same one of us.

[Don't mind him half talking to himself, thinking it out loud. Most of these don't seem to be longbows...]

Hey, how do you find out if these bows are in your level? It's still by the strength it takes to draw the string back to your ear, right?

[The Two Rivers longbows have less slack in the string than other bows in the Westlands, so he might have an easier time than she'd expect from how he looks drawing back the string.]

[tsundyne]

[There are drawbacks and perks to any weapon, so Yukari doesn't see how that's anything worth noting... it is a matter of preference, though, so yeah. She can't really argue against it. At the very least, she certainly isn't going to make him use anything he doesn't want to.

So she just nods to acknowledge the fact, and she'll respond to his question.]

That sounds about right, yeah. Go ahead and give it a try.

[A glance at the local behind the counter reveals that he doesn't seem to mind at all. Yukari's going to try out this compound bow herself, so Mat is free to do the same if he so wishes.

Even without arrows, they can at least get a feel for how difficult it is to use.]

[princeoftheravens]

[It could mean the difference between life and getting eaten by a Trolloc, having shorter range. He's really just thinking of what would happen if a Trolloc or a Forsaken or even just a regular Darkfriend showed up and they had to fight.

He picks a compound up, eying it a bit before drawing the string back to his ear easily.]

...feels too easy. [Don't mind him try others, until he finds one that makes him feel like he's actually exerting a bit of effort to get it back far enough. Hopefully he isn't pulling it back too far for the bow. It doesn't fell like he is, but you never know. So now he looks down at the one in his hand.]

This one feels about right. [Still weird though.]

[tsundyne]

[She's trying various bows too in the meantime, so she probably isn't paying to much attention to the ones that caught his attention. But when he seems satisfied with one that he's found, she stops to turn to him.

Looking at his choice with a scrutinizing eye.]

Not bad. D'you think you'll get it? Or would ya still rather make one yourself?

[...She kinda wants to learn how, if she's honest. But if he really is satisfied, then that's good for him, too.]

[princeoftheravens]

[He raises an eyebrow.]

No reason not to get it and still make one, is there? I still don't know how good of a range this gets or how far it'll lodge arrows into things.

[Like people wearing armor if it comes to that. Though if he has to choose, he'd prefer to make one instead of get this. He knows the range of the type he'd make, and the average strength too.

If she asks, none of the three of them once Rand wakes up would really mind teaching her. For all Mat can't remember all of making his last one.]

[tsundyne]

[Oh, that's true. Those weren't exactly mutually exclusive choices...

So Yukari nods. And though she does kind of want to ask what his process is, she doesn't right away. She places the latest bow she'd been trying back on its shelf-- since she's still quite satisfied with the one she's been using-- and she turns back to him.]

True. Maybe there's a shooting range somewhere that we could use.

[She admittedly hasn't practiced as much with the bow here as she did back home.]

[princeoftheravens]

Maybe. If there is, I haven't seen it yet.

[He thinks he got what she meant by shooting range right...But making targets isn't all that hard either...And it'd give him more to do. He isn't used to having this much free time anymore.

So yep, he's going to get this bow. No real reason not to, especially since he is curious as to how it'd compare. He chuckles, lifting the ashandarei to rest across his shoulder.]

If there isn't, we could always just make some targets.

[He's barely used a bow that's not a crossbow for a year or two. This'll certainly be an interesting experience.]

[tsundyne]

[Having the free time is a little odd to her, too. But after being here for over a year, she's learned to appreciate it. She chuckles a bit at the suggestion, though-- because that's true, too. There's no reason why they can't.]

Good point.

I think I'd like that, actually... and I'm sure we aren't the only archers in the city.

[princeoftheravens]

[He laughs.]

There's at least two more that I know of. Rand and Perrin. [No colors appeared in his vision, and he was glad. Stumbling because he saw whatever Rand or Perrin was doing would be a bit embarrassing. Right, he should probably say how he knew they were archers.]

We grew up together. [Same village, best friends, all ta'veren. And now they all had some sort of army. And were married, or close to it in Rand's case... Time to think of something else before he starts missing Tuon even more. He tugs at his scarf.]

I'm not sure I'll want to be around when Rand shoots, though. [It still made him uneasy whenever he channeled, even though that's the only type of magic that his medallion protected him against here.]

[tsundyne]

[She could already tell that they were close by the tone of his voice when he said their names... or at least she'd like to think that she could. But his next statement confirms it anyway. Her chuckle dissolves into a grin as she continues to listen without interrupting him.]

He's good, I take it?

[As well as a good friend.

They probably both were.]

oops 2/2 haha

[tsundyne]

[...But then again--]

Or maybe not.

[Maybe he's afraid of the stray arrows Rand would shoot off instead. If he missed...]

[princeoftheravens]

They are good archers. Better than me, from what I remember. Rand would just need to use magic to shoot.

[He shudders slightly when he says magic. Clean or not, he didn't like saidin. Or saidar for that matter. Being Healed had really cemented his dislike - it wasn't fear no matter what anyone said - of the One Power. Perrin had been the second best, and he thought Rand had been the best of his age group.

Losing a hand is pretty inconvenient. Not that he thought it wouldn't be.]

[tsundyne]

[...Huh. Now that's interesting-- Yukari certainly doesn't need magic to shoot, and in fact, that was one of the advantages of using the bow. If her magic ran out, she could resort to that instead, if need be.]

Magic, huh...

Mind if I ask how come?

[From the way he put it, he makes it sound like he's the only one who requires the magic for this. So what makes him so special...?]

[princeoftheravens]

[He still found it a bit strange, that Rand's missing his hand and acts like he still has it with saidin.

He smiles, a little. He was missing an eye, Rand missing a hand. Perrin was intact though. It was kinda funny, to think about. Just a little bit.]

He lost his left hand. [The fact that only Rand can use magic out of the three of them is something he doesn't feel the need to say. They were all strange enough even if Rand couldn't channel.]

[tsundyne]

[...oh.

That's.

Just...wow. Yukari is stunned-- first Mat's eye, and now this. Not quite as jarring as seeing it first hand, of course pun not intended, but nevertheless, it's enough to silence her for a moment as she tries to figure out how to respond. She's having trouble just picturing it, actually. So her best guess is that he uses magic instead of his missing hand.

In her world though, he could conceivably get a prosthetic...

Her mind wanders.]

That's hard to imagine.

[She looks away from Mat for a moment, staring down at her own left hand. Clenching it into a fist and releasing it again, just...well, to remind herself that she can.]

[princeoftheravens]

[He opened his mouth to say "Imagine what it was like seeing it for months without knowing how he lost it", then closed it again. As far as he knows, only the three of them could see the colors when they were apart. He wasn't sure he could explain if she asked what he meant.

And what are prosthetics? Can he get Rand one so he'll stop using saidin to carry tea cups?

He nods and grimaces.]

Him losing it was probably flaming prophesied too. [Like him losing his eye and marrying the Daughter of the Nine Moons, and the Stone of Tear falling to Rand and the Aiel. And him dying and living again. And all sorts of things to do with the three of them, though mainly Rand.

The Daughter of the Nine Moons. Tuon. Except she was Empress now... Light, at least Rand had been with Min, and Perrin near Faile when they were brought here. He hadn't seen her in flaming months! The last time was when they got married...He shakes his head. This isn't the time to be thinking about Tuon, not when he can't get back to her here.]

[tsundyne]

[Not knowing how it happened would've killed her. She's curious even now, and she hasn't even met the guy-- but yeah, she feels like she's prying enough as it is, so she's not exactly going to come forward and ask. She just keeps quiet for now, though when he responds, she turns to look at him.]

Flaming...?

[Not sure why he added that. But she does know what a prophecy is, so...]

Do you mean he knew it was going to happen?

[princeoftheravens]

[Right different worlds. He wonders what they say if they don't say bloody and flaming... He looks a bit sheepish.]

Swearing. [Then he shakes his head.]

I don't think Rand knew exactly what it meant. He said "The right hand falters and the left hand strays", but that's not really clear. Most of the prophecies, of the Dragon or not, aren't that clear.

[Even some of what the Aelfinn told him wasn't that clear. "To give up half the light of the world to save the world". He'd figured out what it meant when he gave up his eye, but he had had no idea what it flaming meant before hand. Most everything Rand's done has been prophesied, but]