This is the road to ruin and we started at the end [OPEN]

[leadseasy]

WHO: Yael Flaar and open to all
WHAT: Yael settles into Skyhold and everything is SCARY!!
WHEN: Kingsway
WHERE: Skyhold
NOTES: PM me if you want a closed starter and feel free to give me a starter with whatever!

my heart is like a stallion; shard
This may or may not be where one goes to deal with a shard in their hand. This tall Qunari looks nervous and maybe like she's lost, but she's fidgeting by rubbing her left palm against her stomach.

"Excuse me?" She stopped the nearest person (that's you!), looking nervous and sort of apologetic about it. "I...I'm looking for help with..." She decided to just show them, turning her palm outward so they could see the green particle effect that's been stuck to it light glimmering out of it. "Someone said there was someone I ought to show it to, but I didn't understand the directions they gave me."

She could have been ten feet away, she could have on the wrong side of the castle. She had no way of knowing; have fun with it.

it's not my fault i'm a maniac; training
On the training ground, at least, she looked a little more confident. Anyone who wandered into the further, less-populated corners might find a Qunari in her full armor, short hair knotted back behind her head, shooting arrows into a target placed impressively far away. In fact, eventually, she climbed up onto the wall surrounding the training yard to get even further away, and have to shoot at an angle. Her bow was beautiful, not fancy or ornate in any way, but high-quality and well-made.

we can go back and play pretend; meal or tavern
It never seemed like there was an empty table anywhere in Skyhold. There was always at least one person she'd have to be sitting near enough that it counted as 'sharing space'. Perhaps she was just being late to everything.

That was how, holding her food or drink, a person with an empty seat near them might find themselves addressed by an unexpectedly soft voice. "Is that seat taken?" At least she managed it without stammering.

Comments

[leadseasy]

Yael stayed nearby and watched closely, going around to see the other side of her form after the first shot.

"Oh, that's easy!" Yael exclaimed, excited at the possibility that she actually could help. "I think you're just...hmm." She replayed it again in her head to be sure. "Yes, you're trying to hold onto the string. That's bad," she said, with a firm nod. "Your fingers should only touch the arrow. Trust the nock to hold onto the string and don't think about it. Try nocking and drawing with your fingers a little further forward, like..." She picked up the arrow and handed it to Amelie, then carefully corrected her finger placement. "Right there!" She stepped back and gave another firm nod, looking satisfied.

[fightorfright]

Trust, trust, have faith. Why was it that no matter what she tried to do lately, people kept telling her to just believe? She tried to relax but not too much; otherwise she might accidentally end up touching the Fade and she really didn't want to set her arrow on fire. Instead, she did her best to narrow her focus, really appreciating just where and how her fingers were sitting. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she released her next arrow, which settled itself into the centre of the target.

She made a startled noise of surprise, but decides that it was probably a fluke. Probably.

[leadseasy]

"Good!" Yael said brightly. "Relax your hand a little more. Try to only hold the arrow with the minimum strength you can and still be holding it." She was watching Amelie closely. "Also keep your elbow down." Her drawing elbow was sticking up a little, a common mistake if one didn't pay attention to it.

[fightorfright]

It was hard to relax while also maintaining focus, but Amélie did her best, tongue poking out of her mouth slightly as she tried her best to concentrate. After the woman's correction, she dipped her elbow down slightly before loosing her next arrow.

The arrow hit the centre of the target again, but she did her best to tamp down her momentary elation. "I don't think I can keep this up," she lamented.

[leadseasy]

"I'm sure you can, just keep trying. You didn't need much help!" Just a few little bad habits, easily corrected. "You just have to concentrate on those little things until your hands learn to do it without you thinking about it." Yael was glad to have helped, either way.

[fightorfright]

It was all about practice, wasn't it, developing that muscle memory to be able to go through the actions without thinking. She loosed another arrow, which just skirted the target's centre. Practice, practice, practice.

"How long have you been using an a bow for?" Amélie asked as she nocked her next arrow.

[leadseasy]

"Twelve years," Yael said. "Striker started teaching me when I was fourteen, said I had a knack for it." Putting her a good deal older than most probably would have guessed. "How about you?"