The next morning began with Seren declaring war against the bow again.
“This time I’ll understand it.”
Clara handed her breakfast carefully.
“You said that yesterday before firing an arrow into the sky.”
“That tree provoked me.”
“The tree was eighty feet away.”
Seren ignored this detail completely.
After breakfast the two returned toward the forest clearing once more.
Unlike yesterday, Seren looked strangely focused now.
Which worried Clara significantly more.
“You’re taking this seriously?”
“I refuse to lose against curved wood.”
“That is the saddest sentence I’ve heard this month.”
The clearing greeted them quietly beneath pale afternoon light.
Clara set up several wooden targets again while Seren stood nearby staring at the bow with visible distrust.
“First lesson,” Clara began calmly, “stop treating it like a sword.”
“I’m not.”
“You hold it like you’re threatening it.”
Seren looked down at her grip.
“…Oh.”
Clara walked behind her slowly.
“Relax your shoulders.”
Seren attempted to comply.
“You still look violent.”
“I’m concentrating.”
“That’s worse.”
Clara gently adjusted Seren’s arms into proper position before stepping back slightly.
“Don’t force the shot.”
Seren inhaled slowly.
The forest breeze moved softly around them.
Arrow released.
It missed completely.
Seren sighed heavily.
“This weapon lacks honor.”
“It’s wood and string.”
“It hides behind distance.”
“That’s the entire point.”
Hour after hour passed beneath the trees.
Arrow after arrow failed.
But slowly-
they started getting closer.
One struck the edge of the target.
Another actually remained inside it.
Clara noticed Seren’s frustration changing now.
Yesterday she looked annoyed.
Today she looked determined.
That difference mattered.
During one attempt, Seren pulled the string too hard and nearly lost balance backward.
Clara grabbed her shoulders immediately to steady her.
For a brief second, both froze.
They were standing unusually close now.
Close enough for Seren to feel Clara’s breath near her neck.
Neither moved immediately.
Then Clara quietly stepped backward again.
“…Careful.”
Seren nodded once.
The strange tension lingered afterward anyway.
As evening approached, the forest turned gold beneath the setting sunlight.
Clara eventually walked toward one final target and placed a small apple at its center.
“One last shot.”
Seren narrowed her eyes slightly.
“You think I’ll fail.”
“I think your odds are entertaining.”
Seren raised the bow slowly.
This time—
she remembered everything.
Relax shoulders.
Steady breathing.
Do not force it.
The world gradually quieted around her.
Wind.
Leaves.
Breathing.
Stillness.
Then release.
The arrow flew forward cleanly.
Straight through the apple.
Silence filled the clearing.
Half of the fruit dropped onto the grass below.
Seren blinked once.
“…I hit it.”
Clara stared toward the target for several seconds before smiling.
“You actually did.”
For some reason—
that small praise felt warmer than it should have.
Seren lowered the bow slowly while staring at the split apple in disbelief.
Clara walked past her toward the target.
“You learn fast.”
“I told you the bow was defective yesterday.”
“That confidence returned quickly.”
Seren followed behind her quietly.
The evening sunlight flickered softly through the trees while cold wind moved around the clearing.
Clara eventually handed the arrow back toward Seren.
“You know,” she said casually, “you looked almost normal for a second there.”
Seren narrowed her eyes immediately.
“That sounds insulting.”
“It was meant affectionately.”
“…You’re bad at affection.”
Clara laughed softly.
“You noticed?”
The two began walking home together through the forest path beneath the fading sunset.
No tension.
No whispers.
No Underground.
Just quiet footsteps beside each other.
And somehow-
that felt unfamiliar enough to frighten Seren more than monsters ever could.