In the end, Roxanna and Azul quietly moved to the back of the settlement instead. There, only a few people were taking care of the farms, so Roxanna could still focus on practicing her archery skills.
"You need to form a good stance first," Azul explained. He then helped Roxanna adjust her posture so that it would be more stable.
Azul stood behind her, carefully guiding the position of her arms and shoulders. His movements were gentle, but firm enough to keep her from losing balance.
"Relax your body a little," he said softly near her ear. "If you stay too tense, the arrow will not fly properly."
Roxanna let out a slow breath and tried to loosen her stiff muscles. The bow still felt heavy in her hands, and keeping it steady was much harder than she expected.
"Like this?" she asked.
Azul nodded. "Better."
He reached for her right hand and adjusted the way she held the string. His fingers brushed lightly against hers, making Roxanna instinctively glance back at him for a second.
