[center][b]Summary:[/b] People keep talking. Ara gets annoyed. Carmen spends the entire time attempting to prepare to fire a bow and arrow.[/center] [i][u] - Darwin - [/i][/u] Darwin's great big shining smile never faltered as he smiled at the people before him. He was having such a great time talking to his besties and all but it seemed like he'd hurt Crash with his hug. Or maybe he was recoiling with happiness! Yes' that would've been it. "Oh hey Garden" he shouted as she approached and her merely waved, you couldn't hug royalty! Last time he'd done that he'd ended up in the tower of London. He didn't know Carmen so he just sent her a crazy smile."Oh my what a shame! I've always wanted to watch a couple have my famous Skittle cake!" He grinned again and then realisation dawned. "Oh! Anyone up for some skittles? Mercy and me just had them and they were pretty good, weird aftertaste though, not really sure hey if you know what I mean they're fine with it though." He took out a hand full of skittles. "Oh you're welcome Kathy I'm glad you like it! Purple is just amazing isn't it?" He giggled again. "Ph you guys are joining for archetype, I'm like the best!" [i][u] - Ara (B) - [/u][/i] "Hah, don't worry, I would've been surprised if you recognized me." Ara chuckled, making a cheeky grin. She laughed as she overheard a very friendly purple-haired guy (Darwin) give several people a hug and comment on how good Kathy and Crash looked together. Nudging Carmen with her elbow she commented, "I think pretty much everyone sees them as a set by now." Then remembering that she hadn't offered an explanation yet, she gestured for Carmen to bend down so she could whisper in her ear. Whether or not the musician complied she whispered in a low voice, "I'm Ara. The [i]real[/i] one by the way. Hope you didn't forget me after getting me into a wedding dress and all." Smiling, she retreated back so she could get a good look at the group around her. So many interesting people, and so many different ways she could have fun with all of them. She had apparently made the right choice to follow Little Feather's group into the ranged dojo. Giving a wink in Carmen's direction, she decided on her next plan of action. She took a few steps closer to Garden so she could move on to the next person she was quite interested in having a talk with. "Say, do you remember me?" She asked Crash, knowing the obvious answer to her question. Well, that was the fun of it really. Ara continued, "I'll be quite offended if you don't, since I kind of went out of my way to try to make an impression you know." [i][u] - Kathy - [/u][/i] Kathy raised a brow at the way Crash clutched at his abdominal region after being treated to a tight hug by Darwin. [i]'Exaggerated joke, or actual pain?'[/i] She wondered. Deciding that musing alone wasn't going to get her any answers she asked Crash, "You alright?" "Hi, Garden was it?" She greeted, "It's not my 'true' name as you put it, but Kathy's fine." She personally thought that 'Katherine' was quite a mouthful anyway. Not even her parents called her that and she wasn't even sure if she'd turn around at the appropriate time if someone used that name to actually call out to her. Then noticing the unfamiliar girl (Ara) beside Garden, she looked at the 2 other musketeers. [i]'They know her?'[/i] She wondered. At the very least, the girl (Ara) seemed quite happy to extend a friendly greeting to them. Listening to Darwin she repeated, "Weird aftertaste?" With all the skittles Darwin seemed to produce out of nowhere and gobble down, she didn't really think it was possible for him to have any expired candy so the fact they would have a 'weird aftertaste' sounded somewhat strange to her. Then turning to Mercy, Kathy nodded, "I thought you were a student this whole time." She explained, scratching her cheek. "I made a mistake with Crash's age before too... Apparently I see everyone a few years younger than they are." Then she sheepishly admitted, "Um, I'm a complete beginner at archery so... Could you get me started first? For example... What's a bracer?" [u][i] - Garden - [/u][/i] She greeted everyone back, still curtsying to them. She smiled again and put the sleepy Sunflower on the floor carefully a good distance so no one might disturb the little kitty. “Yes Sir Crash I am very interested in archery, I had some guards at home using a bow and arrow but I never got a chance to try it so certain reason…Yes it Garden, well nice to meet you again Lady Kathy.” She said giving a sweet smile then looked at Sir Darwin and gave a light giggle. “Sure thank you Sir Darwin for offering, a weird after taste? How interesting…” Garden tilted her head with the curiosity of a weird after taste of…skittles. Garden then looked around more on the dojo, a wee bit confused. “I am also very new to this…. I don’t really have a proper image of a..fire..arm? So it would be very grateful if you teach me as well.” She said to Lady Mercy, smiling again but showing her confusion as well. [i][u] - Carmen - [/i][/u] Carmen glanced to see Garden waving at them. "Hello Lady Garden!" she said, waving back. Garden's way of referring to people seemed to be infectious in conversation, a fact that Carmen didn't mind. She also didn't mind seeing Crash and Kathy's reactions whenever a comment was made about the two of them. That would never get old. Turning her attention to the familiar yet unfamiliar girl, Carmen intuitively leaned in to hear her identification of herself. Her eyebrows raising in understanding upon the deliverance of the explanation, Carmen responded, still in hushed tones for whatever reason. "Oh! I was wondering when I'd get to meet you," she replied with a grin. "However...Ara the guy says [i]he's[/i] the real one," she said in confusion. "I'm just going to say you're both the real one and call it a day," she concluded, pleased with herself. She guessed that a doppelganger would have issues with being two people at once. Finally, Carmen turned to Mercy as she give suggestions for beginning archery, taking the liberty to be the first to follow her suggestion and walk over to the archery equipment. She was inexperienced, but she at least knew what everything did and looked like. Going to the bows first, she picked up and weighed several of the bows. There were bows in many different sizes and styles, and she had no idea which one was good for her. Eventually, she settled on a very long but fairly thin bow. Big enough that she liked it, and thin enough that she was able to hold it and pull back the string without trouble. Then she picked up a quiver and a bracer, trying a few of those as well before settling on one. After she was outfitted, slinging the quiver on her back, she walked back to Mercy and the others, waiting for the rest to also get their equipment, and completely unsure if what she had picked was good. [i][u] - Crash - [/i][/u] Crash glanced at Kathy as she asked if he was alright, he puffed his cheeks before releasing a long winded sigh. "Yeah, just a little bit on the 'sensitive' side after earlier" He grinned at her, he still had a bruised cut on his cheek as well he hadn't shifted into anything that had the ability to heal him."Don't worry about it" He smiled before he thought on what he had said and added "...not that I think you are worrying...or...anything" Crash murmured touching the back of his neck awkwardly. Luckily or perhaps unluckily the new addition to the group (Ara) had approached him asking him straight off the bat if he remembered her. He blinked in surprise at her, looking positively stunned by her question. He studied her for a moment desperately trying to place where he would have seen her before, but his mind was throwing him a blank. Guilt swept across his puzzled expression at her next comment, he lifted his hand to the back of his neck as he flushed in embarrassment looking very apologetic. "I-I'm really sorry...I can't say I remember you, I don't mean to cause offense. M-my memory just isn't the best, to many hits to the head" Crash stuttered out, smiling sheepishly at the girl stood in front of him. He had absolutely no clue who he was talking to...he had been focused on Kathy when Carmen had spoken to the girl in front of him. [i][u] - Mercy - [/i][/u] Mercy raised her eyebrow at Darwin grinning at his antics despite herself. [i]Skittle cake?[/i] He was full of surprises. She was unable to stop herslef form maing a slight face as he offered everyone else is Cyanide laced black market skittles. "They were really good even with the extra dose of [i]cyanide[/i]" She agreed with Darwin yet subtly warned the others of why there was a slight aftertaste to the tasty sweets. She turned to Kathy as she addressed her, a small smile tugging at her lips. "Ah, well to be honest with you I was probably acting like a student...I doubt many teachers climb onto their students shoulders to make announcements" She pointed out with a shrug, smiling as Kathy admitted to mistaking Crash's age. "I'm not surprised to hear that, the way he acts doesn't exactly help" She smiled, frowning thoughtfully at Kathy's next question before she held out her left arm showing the girl the piece of leather tied tightly around her forearm. "A bracer in this case is a strap or sheath made of leather that covers the inside of an archer's arm to protect it while shooting. Bracers protect the inside of the archer's forearm against injury by the string of the bow or the fletching of the arrow whilst firing. We've got a selection of them over there left and right hand ones, you'll also want to pick up a bow you're looking for one that feels comfortable to hold in your submissive hand so if you're right handed you'll be holding the bow in your left drawing the string with your right When picking your bow you'll want to make sure you can pull the string back as well, once you've got that sorted just grab any of the hip or back quivers, they're pretty easy to put on. If you get a hip quiver just tie around your waist like a belt with the quiver resting on your dominant side, you can also grab a archery glove for your dominant hand we've got left and right ones" Mercy explained lifting her right hand to show Kathy the [url=http://www.larpcanada.com/633-359thickb ox/black-right-hand-archery-glove.jpg] black right hand archery glove[/url]she was wearing. "Once you've got everything head back over here and we'll get started" She grinned at Kathy, [i][u] - Ara (B) - [/u][/i] Ara frowned at Carmen's 'compromise', or whatever it was. "He's being delusional. And no, we can't both be the 'real' one. I can assure you that he's the doppelganger." Though she said this absolute confidence, there was also no way of proving it either so it was actually up for debate. After all, if they could find evidence of which one was the original so easily then A and B would never be having this sort of argument to this very day. Her smile widened at Crash's flush of embarrassment. [i]'This is just too easy.'[/i] She thought. But at the next moment she hid her grin and made a very melancholy expression. "Really? Not even a little bit?" Ara asked, "I was there at the water balloon fight too... And had my eyes on you pretty much the whole time." Which was technically true, since she had been busy trying to take revenge on him the whole time but obviously she was trying to put the statement up for mistaken interpretation. She pretended to look troubled for a bit, looking away with a thoughtful expression. Then with a small smile, she turned back to him and continued, "Oh! I think I have something that can help jog your memory but... Can you lean in a bit closer? It's a bit embarrassing to say..." [u][i] - Kathy - [/i][/u] "I [i]am[/i] worrying about it. And you can't tell me to do otherwise." Kathy replied, giving Crash a faint smile. Injuries aside, she was quite glad that he was being honest with her. Over-hearing the girl (Ara) and Crash's conversation, she couldn't help but look a little confused herself. [i]'I don't think Crash is one to forget people's names...'[/i] Then hearing the statement about the water balloon fight, she also tried to remember if she recalled seeing the girl there. She had been pretty pre-occupied herself there, but she felt quite certain that the girl's face was an unfamiliar one. She looked to Carmen, who seemed more than ready to start firing her arrows, and asked, "Do you know who that is? It seemed she was at the Beach Olympics too but I don't recall seeing her at all..." With a slightly alarmed expression she repeated Mercy's words, "Cyanide?" Now she was fairly certain that it had to be a joke, but she still decided not to take the offered skittles in Darwin's hand after hearing that. Besides, even the one offering them had told them about a potentially-worrisome aftertaste. She laughed and nodded in agreement with Mercy, "Yeah, I think how you made the announcement may have contributed to that a bit... What classes do you teach? I feel like they'll be interesting to go to." She made another nod in agreement to how Crash's actions probably made him seem younger. Though there had also been moments where he seemed surprisingly mature too, like back when they went to the infirmary right after the party. Kathy listened carefully to the instructor's explanations. She realized that she [i]had[/i] seen a bracer before, in movies or the like mostly, though she had thought it was a kind of accessory rather than something with an actual function in archery. "Thank you, I'll be right back then." Selecting her all the equipment that was mentioned, she came with a bow in her left hand with a bracer on the forearm, an archery glove on her right hand, and a hip quiver that she was still strapping around her waist. It all felt a little funny, the equipment being so asymmetrical and with her not being used to having something so big hanging from her side. "Is that all I need?" She asked, confirming with Mercy. Glancing over at Crash she asked him, "You're going to try too right?" [i][u] - Andromeda - [/u][/i] she saw Leroy withdraw his hand, and turned her attention to Zivon as his book crumbled, as the previous one had "oh!" then he reconstructed it, she blinked "how did you do that?! That's really cool Zivon, is that your power?" she smiled then realized she was probably being too forward with the poor guy, who looked utterly terrified "oh sorry, you don't have to answer that if you don't want to" [i][u] - Carmen - [/i][/u] Carmen narrowed her eyes at Ara with a hint of displeasure. “Look, I imagine you both think you’re the real one. There’s no use trying to convince me either way – you both sing the same song. I’m going to just not bother with it, and we’ll all be better for it, hmm?” Turning to Kathy, her expression lightened back up to her normal disposition. “She’s being a little…indirect. You and Crash encountered both her and me simultaneously at the bar earlier today, and she was in the Beach Olympics, but in a different form. She’s two people – a doppelganger. I’m not sure if either of you ever talked to her directly before, so I wouldn’t worry about not recognizing her. I had a lengthy conversation with her at the bar but even I didn’t recognize her in here. I had to ask her.” Watching Kathy get her equipment, she kept up conversation while waiting to be corralled by Mercy. Having been talking with Ara earlier, she hadn’t heard Kathy talk to Mercy. “Have you done archery before?” she asked with a polite grin. [i][u] - Crash & Mercy - [/i][/u] Crash caught her smile widening but was flooded with a fresh wave of guilt as she adopted a melancholy expression. He shook his head still looking awkwardly apologetic, he couldn’t for the life of him place her...he was wracking his brain, he was forgetful but names and faces [i]usually[/i] stuck in his mind. “Y-you did...?” He frowned, still colored with embarrassment, he had been completely absorbed in the game he hadn’t noticed anyone watching him...He glanced at Kathy silently asking for her help. He returned his gaze to the girl in front of him (Ara) , his eyebrows raising in surprise as she came up with something that could jog his memory. He obligingly leaned closer to her to listen to what she had to say. He waited for the brunette to answer him looking at Kathy as she asked him a question, he grinned at her. “Unfortunately for everyone else, yes I do intend to join in” He answered her, amusement apparent in his crimson eyes he was a little surprised however as Koop flew towards him thrusting a bow into his hand and depositing a glove, bracer and quiver at his feet. “OK...” He murmured bending down to pick up the bracer he frowned and pulled one of the arrows from the quiver. “You’ve got to be kidding me...Sucker darts?” He complained, holding out an arrow with an orange suction pad at the end of it, he narrowed his eyes as Mercy tried to stifle a laugh. Mercy nodded at Kathy. “Yup...that’s what you said hmm?” She nudged Darwin in the side carefully not wanting to cause another arrow from impaling another T.A or student for that matter. “Well I can’t promise I won’t do impromptu things like that in the future” She warned her with a small grin. “At the moment I’m more of a counselor but I’m pretty sure I’ve been signed up to be a Co-economics teacher...god help whoever has to work with me” She answered. She nodded as Kathy moved away looking around to see whether any of the other students were ready, she noticed Carmen had managed to get all of her equipment together, she beckoned her over. “Looking good, if you’re sure you’re comfortable with it all feel free to pick the target you want...except the end one I’m putting Bandicoot down there” She suggested, smirking at her small jest at Crash’s name. “Just as a safety precaution” She justified her comment, although she actually looked kind of surprised when Crash begun complaining about the arrows he had been given, she put a hand to her mouth trying desperately to suppress her laughter as he waved the harmless item around. [i]Koop...[/i] She shook her head noticing the little moogle shoot towards her and take refuge behind her. "Moving on..." She grinned at Crash who was still sulking over the arrows he had been given. "Kathy, yup, looks like you've got everything pick a target as well, once you're ready I can show you 3...or 4 if you're joining us" She pointed the last part of her speech to the girl (Ara) whom's name she hadn't acquired yet. "How to shoot first then I'll go help the others...Crash you can use the end target, looks like Koop modified it for you" Mercy finished with a grin. [u][i] - Ara (B) - [/i][/u] "Think what you will then." Ara replied to Carmen, obviously displeased herself about the musician's opinion on settling the matter. She was right about one thing though: there was no use trying to convince her either way and neither of them had any real means of convincing anyone about it in the first place. It was a problem B and A would just have to deal with themselves. Now as fun as this 'innocent-girl act' was, Ara thought it was probably time to move onto to see how Crash would act when he realized who she was exactly. Recalling a rather mischievous comment A had made for Crash's ears alone back at the bar, she whispered into his ear, "So... Have you started making preparations for the honeymoon yet?" She wasn't exactly sure if he'd remember that comment well enough to get what she was talking about but this seemed like a good way to hint who she was to him. And if it wasn't... [i]'Well, continuing the confusing game might be interesting in its own way.'[/i] She though, nodding to herself as she moved away with a smirk on her face to see what sort of expression the redhead was wearing. Turning to Mercy, who obviously didn't recall who she was either, she smiled and nodded, "I'll be joining in as well!" She left briefly to gather up the appropriate equipment for herself, momentarily wondering if she would prefer to use her left or right hand for archery since she was ambidextrous. She ended up deciding to choose to use her right hand as the dominant one since that was the more common hand to use anyway. Returning to where everyone else was, she snickered for a moment at the toys Crash had been given before choosing a target to shoot as well. [u][i] - Kathy - [/i][/u] "?" Confused by Carmen's vague description, she tried to recall back to the events at the bar. [i]'I know I was blushing a lot...'[/i] She thought to herself, wishing that she didn't really have to recall such an embarrassing moment at all. But the more she thought about it, the more she was certain that she had never met the girl (Ara) before. Unless... The key hint from Carmen seemed to be that she was 'two people' and a 'doppelganger', but it was a little difficult to wrap her head around the concept. And as far as she knew, doppelgangers were supposed to be completely identical twins of each other so people of opposite genders didn't normally fit into that sort of equation. As it was, the more she thought about it, the more she became confused about who the girl could be. And by the time Crash glanced over in her direction with a look of help, she could only give him a helpless shake of her head with a look that indicated she wanted to know the girl's identity as much as she did, if not more perhaps. Hearing Carmen's question, Kathy shook her head and answered, "Not at all. I've never even seen real archery in person, just through a TV screen sometimes during the Olympics." Remembering that Carmen seemed to know her equipment she asked, "What about you? Have you done all this before?" Looking at the 'arrows' Crash had been given, she could help but let out a small laugh. Though she felt a little bad for Crash, it was undoubtedly a much safer alternative than providing him with real arrows. Walking over to him before he left for his specially assigned target, she placed a hand on his shoulder and suggested, "Just fire a few for now, and I'm sure you'll be free to use real arrows once you prove the only thing you'll hit is the target. Right Mr. Bandicoot?" Unable to resist the last bit, she let out another laugh. She also felt a little guilty for thinking that perhaps this had been a good decision on Mercy's(?) part. As much as she trusted Crash as a friend and ally, Murphy's law seemed to dictate that the amiable shapeshifter and sharp objects were not a combination to be put together with a group of fellow beginners. Looking to Carmen as well she told them, "Let's pick targets next to each other. This seems more like an individual activity but... At least we can all stay close by right?" [i][u] - Carmen - [/i][/u] Carmen thanked Mercy with a smile for directing her to the targets, chuckling at her nickname for Crash. She nodded sagely at the “Just a safety precaution” justification before turning her attention back to Kathy. Seeing Kathy’s confusion, Carmen decided to remove the veil of vagueness while Ara was off talking to Mercy. “Her name is Ara, and her other form is a guy. That’s about all I know,” she admitted, shrugging. She moved on to Kathy’s next response and question. “I've studied archery a good amount in books, but haven’t done it for myself before,” she admitted. “I can get the equipment set up, but we’ll see how my actual shooting goes.” After Kathy had poked fun at Crash, Carmen responded to her suggestion of setting up next to each other. “I’d like that,” she said with a smile, walking over to a group of four unoccupied targets, picking one of the middle two. “Is this suitable?” she asked, pulling an arrow out of the quiver and preparing to attempt her first shot. [u][i] - Garden - [/u][/i] Garden watched them carefully, trying to learn from Lady Mercy, but all of these things were confusing her. The arrow, glove thing... proper position... she was getting lost and confused. She stepped back and rubbed her head. Garden then looked at Lady Carmen and gave an smile of confusion. "Umm....Lady Carmen...sorry for asking but mind telling me what to do? I kind of... got lost..." She looked away, sighing a bit, maybe ranged wasn't her thing? She shook her head and and tried to give out a smile showing her interest in it still. She picked up a bow and inspected it, tilting it around and looking at it very closely. Garden for no reason smacked her head with the bow, just trying it out randomly. Of course it hurt but she was just curious of the weird object. "Ouch... but how interesting...." She said, still inspecting the weird thing. [u][i] - Zivon - [/u][/i] ZIvon could't look back as he knew he used his powers in front of them, Leroy just seemed too scary for him. Zivon stepped back and fell again on the floor hitting his butt. He was not having a good day...especially for his sprained ankle. He bit his bottom lip really hard trying not to shout as he fell. It started to bleed a little but he wiped it away quickly. Andromeda seemed to be interested in his power which made him even more scared as he didn't want anyone much to know about it yet but he accidentally showed in front of them anyway. Zivon looked at them and closed his eyes, he put the book on the floor and stood up. "U-Uh..hh..h-h...S-o..o-r-r...y...." He bowed his head to Leroy as he heard him say that he didn't like to be ignored. Even though Zivon was still freaking scared of Leroy he knew his sort of manners in a way. He kept quiet again looking at the floor making sure that he doesn't cry. [i][u] - Lily - [/u][/i] Lily looked around to most, if not all but Matt, had left her. [i]Well, that answers that...[/i] She let out a shaky sigh and then walked over to a nearby bucket of water. She'd just let Matt get the stuff. She sat down near it and began to swirl her finger in the water. The water reacted ever so slightly, moving in ways it wouldn't normally. She glanced up at the paper targets on wooden stands and then back down at her water. With narrowed eyes, the swirled the water slowly and got faster and faster with every passing second. Slowly, she moved her hand up and the water, in a swirling tornado shape, followed her finger. She pulled her hand back and shot it forward in one fluid motion. The water flew from her hand, swirling as it was hurled at the target. It hit just a bit off center of the center and then splashed to the ground. She got up and quickly walked over to the target to inspect her handiwork. There was a visible mark on the paper and lifting her finger to the paper, she peeked in and saw that the wood had been nicked. [i]Neat...[/i] She walked back over to the bucket and began to start again, only this time she was trying to make it look more like... a whip. She managed it a few times and actually got it to snap but the third time she tried to snap it, it exploded in her face and soaked her from head to toe. Her face fell before a smile formed and she started laughing at herself. She pulled the water out of her hair with her hand, coaxing it out and then glancing at Matt, chucked it at him. It landed square in his face. Lily busted out laughter, watching him jump as the water hit him. She grinned and then pulled more water from the bucket and looked around at the others. She spotted Mercy and Carmen and grinned. She chucked two large orbs of water at them and waited for a reaction, her smile wide. [u][i] - Annie - [/u][/i] She glanced up at the boy, her irritation growing. [b]"Hm... alright. Come with me."[/b] She said, jumping up and walking out into the open area once more. She'd had an idea and she wanted to try it out with this boy. She motioned for him to stand in front of her. [b]"Stand in front of me. And promise me you won't use your powers. If you do, I'll punch your brains out. Now..."[/b] She relaxed herself and then sent a death glare the boy's way. [b]"Punch me."[/b] [i][u] - Crash - [/i][/u] Crash’s eyebrow quirked up at her comment, for a moment he looked completely confused as to what on earth she was on about. He lifted his hand to the back of his neck awkwardly. [i]Wait...didn’t that...back in the bar?![/i] Crash’s eyes widened as he suddenly place where he had heard that before, for a moment it looked as if he had figured it all out, several different emotions skittered across his expression realisation, annoyance, frustration and a few more before finally deciding to rest on embarrassment. [i]Low blow Ara...low blow[/i] “You as well?” He murmured to the girl (Ara B) his cheeks flushing red though he seemed less defensive this time round mainly because it was only really affecting him right now. “I have no idea who you are...I’m sorry. But I’m going to take a guess and say that you know Ara?” He sighed. “Whatever he said probably wasn’t true, I’m not entirely sure why he’d get you to say that but” He shrugged, smiling awkwardly. “Erm...you’ll have to excuse me a minute, I’m just going to rejoin my friends...though feel free to come join us” He offered in a friendly manner, still clueless to who the girl was but rather eager to escape her and get to Kathy. He didn't move very far however before Kathy approached him, he looked at her as she placed her hand on his shoulder, he smiled at her encouragement though it faltered as she called him Mr Bandicoot. He gave her his best unimpressed look which didn’t last long when she laughed, he huffed in put-on annoyance. “I’m not jumping on boxes or wearing a Tiki mask...just before either of you get any ideas” He warned them. “Sure...I've got the one on the end” He pointed out, watching as Carmen walked over to a group of targets he poked Kathy’s side playfully with his harmless arrow and nodded towards Carmen. Before he moved over to the targets choosing one of the end targets, he begun to fumble around with his bow trying to knock the arrow.