xp_logs | [Julio and Laurie] - Backdated to July 16th (Reply)

Julio goes for a run and runs into Laurie. Literally. She ends up showing him how to shoot a bow and arrow, and he doesn't embarass himself too badly.

Laurie slung the quiver over her back and settled her bow over her shoulder as she walked down the back steps of the mansion. She was heading over towards the lake, and a spot a little back in the trees that she, Dani and Marie had set up a couple of weeks ago for target practice. It consisted mostly of a set of bales of hay with targets pinned to them and set at certain intervals. Far enough away from the school that if a shot went wide, it'd fall harmlessly amongst the trees rather then doing anyone damage.

Julio himself was doing some exploring, after being cooped up in the infirmary for days on end, he couldn't stop moving. He was alternating between jogging and running on the path Nathan had pointed out to him that morning, along with the older man assurance's that the security extended into the woods as well. Julio was moving slowly, after suffering a slight ankle injury last year he knew not to tax himself. Especially since the sense of presence was back, which he was fairly certain was the ground beneath him. It was pleasant sort of humming, but when he was trying to jog it was sort of distracting. He didn't see the blonde girl until he ran into her.

While Laurie was an athlete, that didn't necessarily translate into a large body mass, so it wasn't surprising that she was knocked off balance and had to drop both her bow and quiver in order to steady herself and not end up on the ground. It was only after she'd made sure that she wasn't about to fall on her butt that she looked up at whoever it was who had careened into her.

Wow...pretty. Laurie blushed, smiled and then blushed again. "Um...ah. That is, ah. Hi?"

"Lo siento, I'm sorry, ah-" Julio said quickly, reaching out to steady the other girl. "I was not, I mean, um." It took exactly 3.5 seconds for his brain to realize that he was holding onto a girl. A very cute girl. He blushed and dropped his hands quickly. "I was not paying attention. I am sorry." He said lamely.

Laurie fiddled with the air filter hanging around her neck, trying to control her blushing and not really paying much attention to the fact that Julio happened to be holding onto her rather closely. "It's alright, no harm done. You're the new boy, yeah?"

"Yes," Julio couldn't stop himself from grinning. She was so cute, amazing what seeing a cute girl could do for one's mood. "My name is Julio." He stuck his hand out. Americans shook hands, didn't they?

Laurie smiled and took a hold of his hand, giving it a firm shake. The sheer formalness of that after they'd just crashed into each other stuck her as terribly funny and she couldn't help a small giggle escaping. She shook her head as she saw the questioning look he gave her. "I'm so sorry, I wasn't laughing at you. Just, shaking hands is the sort of thing I've always done when I'm trying to make a good impression on an adult. Were you headed anywhere in particular? I could keep you company, if you want."

Julio felt even more embarrassed. "No, I was just, exploring." He waved a hand around. "I was distracted, and," he shrugged. "I am sorry, again." The humming combined with cute girl was shooting his concentration to hell. He could barely form coherent sentences, and he wasn't even sure how he managing to do it in English. He pointed to the bow and arrows and raised his eyebrows. "Not going to shoot anyone, are you?"

She grinned, realizing that here was someone who appeared even more out to sea when it came to interaction then even she was. It really behooved her to help him out; by making it as painless as possible. Talking about archery was a good start, there was something she had no trouble going on about for ages. Okay, so maybe not a good idea to b or e the poor boy stupid like that but it was a start, and a start without stammering or blushing even.

"Not human targets, anyhow. Big blocks of hay, currently. Dani, Marie and I set up some targets near the lake so we could practice without being afraid of hurting anyone. You ever tried archery? It's a lot of fun." she replied, realizing she'd been silent for perhaps a smidgeon longer then you should be silent for.

Julio grinned. Here was another person who didn't look at him like he was someone to be pitied, or with fear. He liked her already. "No, I have not. Is it very hard?"

"At first, but then once you get the hang of it, you just get better and better." Laurie replied enthusiastically. "Although, there are some people who never really get the knack for it, so I suppose you could say it takes a little bit of natural talent as well to be really good. I'm kinda adequate, myself. I could probably bring down a deer but I wouldn't be able to pull a Robin Hood or anything. Not that I hunt or anything; because, well, killing Bambi's Mom would just be ew but you know, if I had to, I could."

She kneeled down as she was talking and began to put all the arrows back into their quiver, slinging the bow over her shoulder as she did so.

Julio knelt down beside her and helped her pick up her arrows. It took him a few moments to process everything she said properly. "I would hope you would not want to kill Bambi's mother," he picked up an arrow and tested the tip, it wasn't very sharp, but he'd never seen an arrow before so what did he know? "I cried when that happened. I was also four, but who knows? I may cry again."

"I don't think there are many people who didn't cry at that point in the movie." Laurie replied. "I used to burrow into my Mom's shoulder at tense moments in movies when I was little. She always thought it was terribly cute."

Laurie slung the now refilled quiver over her back and started off down the path again, gesturing for Julio to follow her. She wondered if he'd been given the grand tour yet, if he hadn't she might offer to show him around once she was done practicing.

Julio decided not to mention that he also thought Laurie was terribly cute. He stuck his hands in the pockets of his basketball shorts and followed the blonde girl down the path. "It's good to know I wasn't the only one. Also? Perhaps you could not mention it? I have a reputation to uphold," he grinned.

"I think I could keep my lip zipped." Laurie replied, a small dimple on her right cheek flashing briefly as she grinned at him. "Although I'll have you know that I consider it very manly to show feelings. But I can understand the whole male bonding thing being all 'grr argh!' and less of the sitting around with tea and discussing the latest book you've been reading."

She continued to walk, leading them in the direction of the lake. It was only a few more yards and they should exit the tree line and start walking over freshly cut grass. She had been told that Cain was the resident groundskeeper, even though she had yet to meet the man. He did good work though, as far as her limited experience with gardening went.

"Ah, but you're American," Julio replied, "Americans have funny ideas about what is manly. I believe the term is "metrosexual"? And it's not so much 'grr, argh' as running around and kicking things..." Julio trailed off and thought for a moment. "So, yes, I guess you are right," he amended with a small laugh. He pointed to the haybales with the targets on them, "this would be the practice yard, yes?"

Laurie nodded, eying Julio in a speculative fashion as she pulled some arrows from her quiver and stuck them into the ground close to one of the targets. "Would you like to watch me shoot first, or do you want to just dive right in and I can correct you as we go?"

Julio nodded and said, "I would prefer to watch you go first. To get the form down," he added quickly.

Laurie smiled, and strapped on her wrist guard. "If you start doing archery for any length of time, the wrist guard stops it from chewing up your skin" she explained, pulling an arrow out of the ground, taking aim, pulling back the string and then letting it loose. The arrow sailed high and glanced off the top of the target. Laurie blushed, giving Julio a sideways look. "It's been awhile since I did this regularly."

"I would not worry. I probably could not even fire the arrow properly." Now if it had been a gun, Julio would have had absolutely no trouble. One of the things about growing up the son of an arms merchant was that he knew how to assemble, aim and fire any type of gun imaginable. It was how father and son bonded.

Laurie pulled another arrow from the ground, placed it, aim and then shot. This one was closer, the outer ring even. She really needed to practice more often, there just hadn't been a lot of time lately. "It's not as hard as it looks, it's the aiming that's the complete bitch."

Oops...well, there was another dollar for the swear jar. She'd be able to buy herself something shiny and expensive soon, but she'd rationalized the spate of extreme swearing after the court case as a releasing experience. Besides, calling them all monkey fuckers had made it all seem somehow better in the end.

"Okay, you get to try next. Come over here and I'll show you how to hold the bow."

Julio took the bow and then tried to copy Laurie's stance, "Like this, then, yes?"

Laurie grinned and moved closer, moving Julio's hand slightly up the bow, and adjusting his arms to give a better draw. "Now, just aim and let go and we'll see what needs adjusting."

Julio had to give his brain a moment as it was currently crossing the "Must do this properly" signal with the "OMG cute girl touching me!" one. He cleared his throat, narrowed his eyes, and let go of the string. Only to have the arrow slip out of his grasp and fall to the ground. He flushed slightly.

It would probably be the worst thing in the world right now if she so much as smiled, Laurie realized, so she didn't. Instead, she picked up another arrow and handed it to him gravely. "You know, when I first started doing this, I aimed so badly I almost shot someone in the leg. Lucky for him, he was really good at the dive and roll maneuver."

Bah, this was harder than it looked. Give Julio something that involved running or kicking or hitting things, any day of the week. Still, Laurie was trying to help him, and pride demanded he at least get the arrow to fire. "Remind me to stand behind you at all times when you shoot," he replied. He assumed the proper stance, with Laurie correcting his positioning again. He took aim and let go, and this time the arrow made it halfway to the targets before burying itself in the ground.

Laurie beamed at him, before walking up, pulling the arrow out of the ground and then walking back to where Julio stood. "That was great. See, it just takes practice, like I said. You'll see, no time at all and you'll be causing low flying birds to fall out of the sky just like me."

Julio grinned back. "I will be a regular Robin Hood, que no?"

"Well, if you're gonna be Robin Hood, then I guess I'll just have to be Little John." Laurie replied, voice softening as her habitual shyness returned in force.

"No," Julio said wistfully. "You would not make a good Little John. Not big enough. Perhaps a Maid Marion? But a Maid Marion who could kick my butt in archery." Julio grinned at her. "How do I do this again?"

"Maid Marion it is then. Although, I've never been one for dresses." Laurie responded, stepping closer to Julio and adjusting his hands on the bow again. "Here, like this. Just aim it a little higher this time and you'll be fine."