Sharpshooting
by Arilyn
Fri., 22 May 2000, at 2:50AM EST

Slowly... ever so slowly, she crept up the ledge to its grassy summit, under a thick blanket of branches in almost humanoid-like in their speech they called out and fluttered overhead. The sky was quickly growing dark and she could see movement in the panoramic scene of the valley below. She blinked uncomfortably as her vision adjusted to the darkened scene; lovely were the gifts of her race. She drew her eyes into mere slits, focusing unwaveringly on the movement below. She lay still, her body taught, but quivering in the hot tropical heat she lay motionless, except for the blinking of her jade-green eyes, she remained unwavered. She drew a deep breath as she spied a figure come into view around the corner of the moss-covered crypt. Its glowing red eyes revealed immediately the nature of this beast, She hissed quietly despite herself at the evil, the Flyn that moved unnaturally just ahead of her. She slowly reached for her longbow and silently wrapped the coarse string to the top, pulling it tight. She raised it quietly and sighted in on her target. She lifted a single arrow from her quiver, its blackened shaft, a trademark of her family, betrayed no light into reflection. She raised the arrow into the slot, and sighted down its lean, straight shaft and closed one eye to focus upon her effort, saliva coated her mouth as she bit her tongue. "..a bit too far..." she whispered to herself. Slowly she lifted the arrow's pristine white fletching made of a harpy she had come across earlier in the day, to her careful mouth and licked two sides and carefully folded them back with her fingers, expertly accounting for wind she did this. "...that'll do...." she held the thought as the skeletal form, surveyed its scene, grotesque pieces of rotting flesh and green stringy sinew hanging from its bones like vines from an awning, she grimaced at the clarity of her account of the scene. She decided to wait not a minute more, she sighted down the shaft once again and pulled the arrow back. She could feel the rough texture of the fletching slip expertly back in her fingers, gracefully she pulled far back, leaning her weight to the front, she set her eyes in on her prey, knowing well she'd have to make a good shot here. She let loose her missile, her fingers snapping up on the release. The familiar "TWANG!" of the string as it snapped forward filled her with pleasure, she watched the arrow home in on its destination making a loud whistle from the adjustment to the fletching she had made as it sped along its course. Her heart stopped, her lungs tensed as the figure as if caught in a slowing of time began to turn in her direction the arrow struck the base of its skull, ripping it free of the neck, bones shattered, evil died, worlds collided.... and Arilyn smiled joyfully, as the skull rolled to a stop, the red glow ceasing to emit it wretched hue. She slowly made her way back down he ledge and back into the shadows to live yet another day... she'd be one the best archers yet she promised herself as she crawled into the Gordian knot of foliage there on the jungle floor in this, the tropical jungle.