[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/D9OBI9j.png[/img][/center]

Out on the training yard, the block named The Rabbits split in two, half going with MacKensie onto the archery range while Grimes took the other half for sword and shield training.  She was glad to have Grimes around, a man who understood the technical aspects of melee combat much better than her.  She, herself, relied purely on instinct, speed and lightning reflexes to carry her through any close-combat scenarios.  This was unteachable.  What she [i]could[/i] teach, however, was sound archery fundamentals.

[Colour=Pink]"Engage your core,"[/colour] she instructed to Wendel.  He didn't understand her terminology, so she gave his abdomen a pat with the back of her hand. [Colour=Pink]"Tense your stomach muscles as you draw."[/colour]  He did so, his posture straightening up.  [Colour=Pink]"Good.  Feel how your hips and spine have aligned?  This is how you should feel everytime."[/colour]

She smiled encouragingly and left him to keep shooting.

[Colour=Pink]"Tamsin.  Lean forward slightly so that you feel your weight on the balls of your feet."[/colour]

She patrolled the line of archers, correcting bad habits, periodically blowing her whistle to signal ceasefire so that all could go and collect their arrows.  At one point, she was stood in place of one of her soldiers, showing him the correct way to place his feet while aiming, when her eyes caught the gaze of Zell across the yard.  She quickly looked away, stumbling over her words and losing her train of thought.

[Colour=Pink]"Why don't you try again and I will talk you through it, yes?"[/colour] she said.  The attempt to disguise her discombobulation was feeble, but it worked, the soldier none the wiser.

[Colour=Pink][i]They trust I know what I'm doing,[/i][/colour] she thought to herself as she came around to the other side of the archer so she could put her back to where The Lions were training. [Colour=Pink][i]They are counting on me to get them through this.  And here I am, enveloped in my own drama.  I have failed myself but I will not fail them.  Your duty - above all else, Mac.[/i][/colour]

When Fenna brought some of her Falcons over to the range, she and MacKensie spoke briefly.  Fenna mentioned that she had been enchanting the crossbow bolts MacKensie had given her, using her mana each day to make an equal amount of fire and ice bolts.

[Colour=Pink]"Thank you so much,"[/colour] MacKensie smiled and touched the older woman's arm.  [Colour=Pink]"I will collect them this evening, before dinner."[/colour]

Enchanted bolts in combination with her new, upgraded one-handed crossbow would be a monumental increase in her ranged damage.  The new crossbow had replaced the old, fitted at the small of her back, easily drawn with her right hand.  But she did not abandon her original crossbow, and wore it on her right hip, easily drawn by her left hand.  Dual wield firing would require some alone time to practice - particularly the reloading aspect - but MacKensie was confident that she could make it work, at least for short periods of time in battle when she needed the extra firepower.