Shadow Hunters: Parabati

Simon and Alec

Alec didn't spend too much time at the institute these days, besides training. He usually came early in the afternoon and sometimes stayed for nightly patrol with Jace.
Simon had gotten good with a bow and arrow while at the academy. He was in the training room retrieving his arrows from the target when Alec spoke from behind him. "This is too easy. You need to find targets harder to hit." Alec walked over and grabbed the tennis balls from a basket against the wall. He told Simon to aim and shoot at the balls as Alec tossed them in the air. Simon missed all but one. "You have to anticipate where the target is going to be and aim there instead," Alec said. "Why is hitting tennis balls a useful use of my time?" Questions Simon. "You need to be able to think ahead when you are in a battle. Also, have you heard of flying demons?" Alec said with a hint of anoyance and sarcasm. Simon tried again and hit two more balls. Simon was still missing, so Alec volunteered to show him how it's done. Alec didn't bring his own bow to the institute today, so he grabbed a practice one from the rack. Alec filled a quiver with arrows and walked back to where they were shooting. He told Simon to throw 2 balls at a time until Alec ran out of arrows. The first 2 Simon threw Alec hit before they started to come back down. The next 2 he hit with one arrow straight through both. The 2 after that, he let bounce and hit them each with an arrow. Simon went to throw the last ball, and Alec shot it right out of his hand. Simon just stood there with his mouth hanging open until he could collect himself. He told Alec what a good job he did, and Alec just looked at him slightly annoyed. "You need practice Simon. If you are going to be laying down cover fire for my brother and sister, you better know what you're doing. There is a tennis ball machine against the wall that has adjustable speed settings, so you can work on this exercise alone. I expect you to do better next time I see you. Good first try, though." Alec said with a hint of a smile. He awkwardly patted Simon's shoulder and left the training room.