"This is your target," rose said, pointing to a white fungus on a tree. "you grab the bow... Here, and position the arrow... Like this." Germany did as shown.
"then raise it by your head, arrow near your cheekbone, like so." Germany raised his bow. Rose dropped hers and moved his hands and bow to a better position.
"aim for your target, almost like aiming a gun.". This, Germany understood. he aimed for the white patch on the tree.
"now pull back.. and let fly" Rose's arrow hit right in the middle. Germany's arrow hit the tree, the point stuck, and the rest broke. Rose sighed.
"dont pull back so hard. you'll break the bow and every arrow you use. only pull back far if you need to shoot long distance, or through something hard" three hours passed.
"Alright! hit twenty like that!" ten arrows flew, hitting their marks each time. 11, 12, 13, and germany missed. he reached for another arrow, only to find that there were no more. Rose laughed strangely. she gathered the arrows that werent splintered or to far away to be practical. she refilled both quivers almost all the way.
"Kasaaha! good job! nobody learns that fast!" even germany was surpised at how quickly he had learned archery. it should have taken days with good training. but it had taken only a few hours.
"shall we go for a run?" Rose asked, stretching.
"well.. sure. i normally train in the mornings anyway..." rose had disappeared. she returned just five minutes later without the bow or quivers.
"lets go!" she dashed off with good speed. Germany took it as a challenge and dahsed to catch up.
"hallo" she said, with a german accent. she picked up the pace till even germany found the going difficult. suddenly rose was gone. germany stopped running, thinking about her tendancy to do that. he decided not to humour her, and did exactly that. he kept running, but at his own pace. something dropped onto his back. rose had a stick on his neck.
"sharpen your reflexes. if i had i knife, you could be dead." rose dropped off of his back and smiled winningly.
"stopping while you were at full speed was hilarious. also an old trick. be more wary of that" Germany scrutinized her face. was she kidding? or seriously training. he decided she was probably kidding.
"i know these forests well. i've had, after all, five years to introduce myself. be on guard. im always climbing trees" Germany took her cockiness almost like a challenge.
"Race?" he asked.
"foot? tree? enemy territory? Anything goes?" Rose asked.
"Anything goes, but no messing up the opponent physically."
"that's what I meant. Ready.. Go!" they started running, rose slower than Germany. He thought he might win, until rose took to the trees for help. She climbed one and hopped seven trees ahead of Germany before he even noticed. She dropped on her legs and one hand, using her hand to propel her forward as she landed and rose to her proper height. She reached a slope and actually lay on her side and rolled down it. She came eventually to the more tropical section, and by now she was tired. She hid and drank from a spring very quickly, then began moving again, adopting a more energy saving fast pace. Germany appeared behind her. She sped up slightly, but Germany pulled ahead. He grinned as he passed. It had been a long time since he had this much fun. In fact, it had been a long time since he had any fun. He slowed down slightly, and rose began to pass him. She paused to look at him, only to double her pace when he recovered and began running. Rose had a brilliant idea. She grasped a vine, tugging it quickly for stability, and swung forward several feet. Less that she had expected, but still put her in front of Germany.
" where is the finish line?" Germany gasped between strides.
" end of island, France, or stamina"
" none of those are healthy"
Rose collapsed on the sand, seven minites later, sucking in air. She clutched her side as she got a stitch, and Germany gritted his teeth, having done the same thing.
" we should find fresh water" rose gasped. Germany could barely breathe his reply.
"Ja," He stood up after three minutes of gasping air, and offered a hand to Rose, only to realize she was asleep on the sand. He felt panic rise, and shook her shoulder violently. She woke instantly.
"what the hell do you want?"
" nothing, just waking you."
"'tevs. It's alright" Germany had been afraid that she had passed out from exhaustion. Apparently she was just a bit like Greece, who could sleep anywhere and anytime. Surprisingly, they had both enjoyed this to an extent they thought that maybe they would not have reached had they been with anyone but each other.
"we should do this again"
"ja, but next time we end before our hearts burst in our chests."
" lovely thought"
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Hallo! Sorry this chapter took so long. It's funny how rose can sleep anytime, yet it's 11 pm here and I'm still typing. ('tevs is like "whatever")
