The training ground was, at this moment, set up for archery practise. Its near end was lined with targets, at which shot a group of young recruits equipped with longbows, new to the academy and of varying skill levels. Also, it appeared, they were of varying dispositions towards archery - some were in high spirits, glad to be out of the keep's classrooms, and others wore frustrated frowns as they fumbled with the unfamilliar weapon. Midway down the uniformed line, Taurien surveyed a student, watching her nock an arrow. The girl was a promising, evidently already having had some background in archery, and, Taurien knew, enjoyed archery more than she let on. She had seen that same eagerness many times before in children of her home clan, and knew it very well - she had experienced it herself. Under Taurien's slanted green gaze, however, the girl seemed nervous, and her hands were unsteady when she loosed the arrow. Taurien reproofed her mildly, and, leaving her with some encouraging advice, moved along down the line with a wry grin on her face as she saw the amount of fumbling going on. It was a pity more of these students didn't share that young woman's aptitude for archery, but then, she was no longer among elvenkind. She was pleased with the way the recruits had mostly accepted having a woodland elf as an archery and riding instructor - Serendipity on the whole was a mixed community, used to having various races among the general population. She lifted her head, her actue elven hearing having picked up footsteps on the path. What you didn't see every day, though, was... Her gaze was drawn to a student at the near end of the row. Surprised by the sight of a centaur, his bow swung wildly away from the target as he shot, the bowstring twanging loudly as the arrow zipped towards the path on a rather shaky trajectory, narrowly missing the centaur's face before falling, thakfully harmlessly, to the ground. Eyes wide dinnerplates of shock, the boy stared in inner torment at the newcomer for a few seconds, before turning around slowly... to find Taurien's fern-green eyes boring into his, one eyebrow lifted in unimpressed enquiry. He stammered a few incoherent mumblings under his breath, before turning and, figuring this the wisest course of action, bolting away towards the stables. The slim elf spent a few seconds staring intently at the ground and trying very, very hard not to laugh. Then, brushing stray strands of green-streaked brown hair out of her face, she turned back to the class and indicated they should continue before setting off, light-footed, towards the newcomer.
It could be said that perhaps you wouldn't pick Taurien for the military instructor in a crowd; certainly, her appearance was not particularly official. For instance, she was wearing traditional wood-elven attire, which in the case of her clan consisted of a green shirt of outlandish design and a brown skirt suitable for riding, and light knee-high boots. Her hair, which was decorated with a silver leaf-charm or two and various beads or a strand of grass woven into one of the plaits completed the decidely unconventional picture. And, of course, there was the sprawling, natural-dye vine tattoo which began as a flower on her right palm and climbed up to encircle her eye. The only uniform in evidence was the dark blue armband on her wrist, newly embroidered to indicate her position as an instructor. Taurien had seen no reason to give up her preferred dress in order to look more like the predominantly human population around her. Still, there was a knowledgeable, polite, and, at the moment, apologetic look about her as she drew near the newcomer.
'Hello there! Welcome!'
She called from a few paces away. Taurien had known a few centaurs in her time - occasionally they had been seen around her childhood home. The ones she had met she held in respect as great archers, and certainly her clan had only had positive experiences with them. Drawing to a halt, she became more serious as her voice dropped to normal, and apologetic, speaking tones.
'I hope you can excuse young Corfin. Unfortunately, archery isn't one of his strong points.'
Taurien's eyes flicked back to the recruits in the field for a moment before she continued.
'I am Taurien, the archery instructor, and this is Serendipity's military academy. I assure you, this isn't the way we usually greet new arrivals. How can I help you?'
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.Mindchildren.</font>
<font color=gray>•Freya•Istalia</font><font color=#006600>•Taurien•</font>
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