thecapitol | [open]

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Who| Clementine and OTA
What| Clem didn't get any family visiting so naturally she decides to go occupy her time with weaponry instead
Where| The Training Centre
When| Family fun week
Warnings/Notes| Er... let's go with possible swears and talk of violence

Clementine had been unlucky, or perhaps lucky, in that no familiar faces had shown up for her this week. Maybe she was too new, too unknown still for the Capitol to have an idea for making a spectacle of her that way yet. Being small and practiced at hiding and sneaking she'd managed so far to avoid too much of the limelight, just the way she preferred it.

So (in what was definitely not a distraction from the dull ache of disappointment in her chest) she'd decided to focus on training for the upcoming arena. When that was exactly she wasn't sure and no one seemed able to tell her, making it seem all the more important to practice while she could. Plus, with everyone else busy with their visitors the place seemed quieter than what she normally assumed it would be.

"Way too heavy." Clem says as she passes a line of swords, axes and maces, pushing down the sense of fear at the idea of someone coming at her with one of those. "Way too... I don't even know what that is." she frowns at something else. The survival stations at least look more familiar to what she knows.

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Joel doesn't often use the training centre for its intended purpose - he doesn't really see the point of training, in general. But what it's good for is escaping. Getting out of the ever-present public eye, while not being a total shut-in. Sometimes there are friendly faces, and that helps, too. Tess is here, but he sometimes can't quite look her in the eye, and he has no idea when she'll be leaving again (she will be leaving again, that he knows) - it's difficult. Sometimes he needs to get away, even from her.

The little girl today is a new face, and one that sends a pang through his chest. She's so young, and it just makes Joel even more angry with the Capitol. Those bastards.

"Ever tried a bow and arrow?" he asks the girl quietly, so as not to startle her. "Takes some arm strength, but it's still easier than an axe."

She doesn't jump, thankfully. Living people can be a hell of a lot quieter than Walkers, she's going to have to start getting used to that, remembering that the opponents she'll be facing will be living. Back home the living were more dangerous than the dead usually but never found in great quantity.

"... no, never have. I've seen other people use them." From a distance. "Is it hard to learn?" Clementine might as well ask if he's making suggestion.

"Easy to learn, tough to master," Joel says with a shrug, pulling a small bow down - too small for him, and still probably too big for the girl, but it should be okay for her to handle.

He tests the string on it experimentally, giving it a couple of tugs. "Aiming's the toughest part - it don't shoot straight the way a gun does, and you have to take a lot more account of wind and stuff. But it's quiet."

As he says all this, he's paying attention to the girl - she's a new face to him, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. What does intrigue him is the way she stands, the way she holds herself. Like she's wary of attack. If she's new here, she's probably from a pretty tough place. Joel can appreciate that.

"What's your name?"

Clementine watches, arm folding loosely over her stomach. It's a subconsciously defensive gesture from ingrained wariness of stranger, yet she's clearly paying attention to everything he says, eyes on the bow. In her case long range is definitely the better option and since guns seem to be out learning to shoot a bow might be her best option.

"Quiet is good. It's Clementine."

He nods, grabbing a few arrows and indicating she should follow him to where targets are set up.

"I'm Joel. You ever shot a gun before?"

"Plenty of times." she answers, "Will that help in learning to use a bow?"

Clementine follows him but keeps a few paces between them, her eyes on his broad back. He looks like a survivor, like plenty of survivors she's seen since the world went to hell. It's in the eyes, she thinks, always is.

That plenty of times is enough to tell him what he needs to know - a kid her age shouldn't have to shoot a gun, but if she did, then she probably comes from a world about as tough as his.

Which makes her a kindred spirit, of sorts.

"I'm not sure it helps, it just gives me an idea what kinda experience you got," he says with a shrug. "It's pretty different from a gun. Gun does most of the work for you, but you'd be surprised how powerful an arrow can be."

He holds out the bow for her to take - no arrow just yet. "Feet shoulder width apart. Use your dominant hand to pull the bowstring back, far as you can. Level with your ear."

"I've been shooting about..." she pauses, thinking about it. "Two years." The exact date had been lost a while back, she and Christa had come to work off the seasons for an idea of when it was. Occasionally they'd meet other friendly survivors who'd kept a better track and would inform them.

Clementine takes the bow from him and runs her fingers up the curve for a moment. "Okay." she grips the string with her right hand and let's out a surprised grunt as she pulls it back, it does take effort. "Not as easy as it looks."

"Told you," he says with a twitch of his lips. "You gotta build up your arm strength, but it's worth it. You pull it taut, all the way back to your ear, if you can. Gives it the most force and range. Try pullin' it back and holdin' it there steady for a while, see how long you can do it."

"Uh," she grunts and manages to hold it, she doesn't bother to count how long she manages it, it'll only distract her from the attempt itself. After about ten seconds she has to give in, holding onto the bow with her right and rubbing her bicep with her left. "Now I know why people invented guns."

Joel keeps track, in his head, counting silently as he watches her. His lips twitch again faintly as she drops the bow. "That was a good start. You gotta be able to hold it steady while you aim. Here, I'll show you."

He grabs an arrow and a bow of his own, nocking it into place and pulling back the bowstring to his ear as he aims at the target further downwind. He could do it much faster if he has to, but for his purposes now, he takes his time, keeping the string taut as he aims for the target's chest.

When he fires, it releases with a quiet twang, and an instant later the arrow punches the target right in the gut.

Clem rubs her arm, though it really doesn't hurt that bad, she can't help playfully milking it a little. She's all eyes though, watching his technique and then whipping her head round to see where the arrow strikes.

"Wow... bullseye." It's about all Clementine needs to know, maybe it's not as fast or as easy as a gun but it can be just as deadly. "That guyw ould be pretty dead."

"And his buddy around the corner didn't hear a thing," Joel adds with a nod. "Keeps you at range, and still nice and quiet. Let's see you try."

"Good point." she didn't even think about the added bonus of it being quiet and she really should have. Noise was often the reason she'd had to put herself in dangerous close quarters rather than give herself the safety of distance. "Okay!"

She takes the bow back and takes an arrow, examining for a moment how the end slots against the string. Clementine feels excited to try -- though inwardly tells herself not to get too eager, it's not like she'll be as good as Joel, maybe not for a while.

The arrow is knocked and she draws the string back, clenching her jaw as she tries to sight along it. The release of the arrow is half-due to the strain more than her confidence she'll reach the target and despite her attempt to be rational with herself Clem's still disappointed when the arrow clatters to the floor short of the target.

It's no more than Joel expected, however, and he goes to collect the arrows patiently. "Good start," he says encouragingly. "Try pullin' it tighter next time - the tighter you pull the string, the farther the arrow will go and the harder it'll hit."

Clementine wrinkles her nose even as a smile starts to fight it's way through onto her face, she gives into it a second later. "Tighter, got it." she plucks the string, "Good thing I have so much free time, I might be able to actually hit something when I go into the arena."

"You can stick with me in the arena," he says immediately. "There's another girl, Ellie. She's from my world. A little older'n you. We look after each other, you can stick with us. Keep practicin', and we'll help each other out."

The sudden offer takes her back a little. Clementine looks at Joel and there's scrutiny in her eyes, weighing him up. Physically she knows she's not what people would probably want in an ally and from what's she's been advised (and experienced before) it's good to be underestimated.

She also knows her youth earns her leeway and compassion more than is often offered to others (and inside she hates that she has to immediately evaluate what is probably a simple kind offer before accepting). That's what this is, she thinks, it's good enough for her. If Joel really means it she'll do her best to help him and this girl Ellie too.

"Okay." Clementine says after a moment. "I'd like that."

That's part of why he brought Ellie into it - that way it's not just a weird old man asking a little girl if she wants help. He's a guy with a kid, asking another kid to join them.

"So what is it you've had to shoot at, anyway?" he asks after a moment. He half-expects her response to be Infected, because she reminds him so much of Ellie in some ways. But he knows better than to assume any given person is from the same world as him.

"Walkers." she waits, chancing that they'll be a flicker of recognition in his eyes and when there isn't she carries on to explain.

"I think it was... three years ago?" She was eight, now she's eleven, Clem's fairly certain anyway. "Dead people, they started getting up, started eating anything that was alive. Mostly people. People who die turn into them." he can probably figure out the result of that himself but Clementine still adds, "There's not many people left."

"Already dead?" Joel's eyebrows go up, but he doesn't say that's impossible or anything like that. "Sounds rough. Ours is a fungus. You get infected, it eats your brain and makes you go crazy. Turns you into a monster. Not many folks left where I come from, either."

"Definitely already dead." she tells him, "They only die for real if you get the head -- the brain."

Clementine looks up, eyes wide, "Fungus... I... don't think that caused what happened to my world. No one knows why it's happened."

"Well the dead stay dead where I'm from, so I guess it's not the same. But seems pretty close, anyway," Joel says with a shrug.

"Here, try the bow again. See if you can hold it back a little longer."

It's strange how similar it sounds, despite there being differences in the details. "Guess they like people like us for the games." she hazards before nodding.

Clementine takes the arrow and sets it to the string, taking a breath before pulling it back. She holds her aim as long as she can, counting seconds, determined not to loose the arrow until she's gone past her first record.

It's only a couple seconds longer but she does it, stubbornness powering through the strain.

"Good," he says, approving. "See, you're already gettin' better. Just remember to breathe - you might be tempted to hold your breath, but trust me, it doesn't actually help."

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