sixthiterationlogs | Lacking in Skill

WHO: Riza Hawkeye & OTA
WHERE: The Inn, possibly other places depending on how thread goes
WHEN: November 16
OPEN TO: Leaning towards archers, but if anyone wants to get some CR with Riza feel free
WARNINGS: Mention of recent animal deaths -- though not specific detail
STATUS: Open

Things were starting to look grim. Between the disappearances, the multiple animal carcasses popping up, and then the attack on the woman who had gone to explore the ruins, Riza was starting to get very concerned with how vulnerable she was. It wasn't that Riza couldn't take care of herself. She was decent at hand-to-hand, but it was becoming clear that whatever was out there was more than capable of taking down an animal or human with that level of skill. The only weapon she'd ever really used was a gun -- different types of guns and certainly explosives -- but they were lacking in that department here. She had nothing and while she could join the group of people who used knives or at least carried them, she'd never had quite the skill with blades that Hughes had possessed.

So where did that leave Riza? Well, if it was one thing she had learned over the years it was to try and adapt. She needed to find and train in a new skill and, more importantly, she needed someone to show her how to do it. She knew there were people here who practiced or were skilled at archery, she figured she might start there. Riza knew the weapon supply was limited, but she also knew that there were some "less pristine" bows that had possibly been set aside for such use. Still, before she could worry about any of that she had to see if anyone would even be willing to teach her.

The day before, she'd left a note on the "FOR TRADE" curtain of the inn, for the purposes of starting the exchange. It seemed easier to leave a note than to try and ask for assistance door to door. The note had read as follows:

WANTED: LESSONS IN ARCHERY, KNIVES, OR SNARES. TRADE FOR DOG TRAINING, CUPS OF TEA, OR DISCUSS OTHER. INTERESTED PARTIES MEET NOON, TOMORROW, HERE.

It was now the appointed time and Riza sat with her back against a wall and watching the entrance to the inn for any likely teachers to approach her. Of course, if anyone else wanted to stop over for a chat she was more than willing to pass the time that way as well.

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Finnick doesn't read the notices on the for trade curtain, because Finnick doesn't go to the Inn. Not to go inside. Not to do anything more but leave some fish for Kate Kelly to thank her for the food she'd provided when he and Annie were going without. But he and Annie have been talking since their gifts arrived, and the more they talk, the more he's been thinking about her suggestion that maybe the gifts mean they're supposed to become more involved in the community here.

Besides, with mutts on the loose picking off even quite large animals, if there are allies to be found here, it's probably worth finding them. Winter is starting to blow in, and the rain was bad enough. Food will be scarce.

So Finnick's come to the Inn today, although he's come alone. He wants to scout out the lunch before he brings Annie.

On his way in, though, the first person he sees is someone familiar. Riza, the woman who'd greeted him when he first climbed out of the fountain, and she's very clearly watching to see who comes in.

"We've got to stop meeting like this," he says, letting a smile flicker over his face for a moment.

Despite everything the inn was proving to be relatively quiet today. She was just starting to wonder if perhaps she should try again tomorrow when the door opened. A young man walked in and she realized Finnick was actually visiting the inn for once. She caught sight of him from her room sometimes when he'd left fish once or when he was skulking around the village. Riza hadn't really seen him in person much aside from that initial meeting and then the town hall meeting a little while later.

She returned the smile, "At least you aren't soaking wet this time."

Noon comes and so does Clint, scruffy beard and hair badly in need of a cut, and his white scrubs basically beyond saving if he ever wanted them to be straight-up white again. But he's here and he can totally give archery lessons to whoever wrote that note.

Riza's the only person there, so... he's hoping she's the note-writer.

"Hey," he says. "Are you the, uh. Person looking for archery lessons?"

The door opens and Riza's gaze immediately goes to the door. It isn't that's she apprehensive, it's that she's grown cautious. There's a reason she sits with her back to a wall.

But it appears she had nothing to be worried about--it was just someone willing to follow up on her archery request. She nods, "I didn't have a lot of room to leave details." She gestures at the seat across from her and offers a hand, "Riza Hawkeye. I work with firearms and I'm have training as a sniper back home. I was hoping I could find someone to teach me how to use weapons that are a bit more common to this place."

"Not my preferred weather for swimming," he replies, huddling into his coat a little. It's not as miserable today as it has been lately, but it's still cold to a man who'd spent most of his life in the warm coastal climate of District Four.

Real cold has never had pleasant associations for Finnick, but mostly, he knows that it's stupid to swim when it's too cold outside, no matter how much he misses the ocean.

He's paused on his way to find out how this whole lunch thing that Kate Kelly runs works, because he's curious about something. Something Riza perhaps has no reason to share with him, but something he wants to ask anyway.

"You the new sentry?"

It's a less probing way of asking why she's watching the door.

"Depends. Do you know the password?"

She levels a serious stare at the young man, smile fading as she does her best to exhude a serious demeanor. Still, she's only teasing and the moment passes, especially when she realizes that Finnick might actually take her seriously if she stretches it too long. So she shakes her head, "No. I'm not sure Miss Kate would want us doing that anyway. This is supposed to be a welcoming place."

Riza then answers his question truthfully, "I'm waiting to see if there are any interested parties in teaching me some new skills to utilize around here." She gestured at the notice she'd left the other day.

The concept of the inn being welcoming is not entirely in accords with Finnick's feelings about the place. That's not because of Riza, or Kate, or anyone there, though, it's because it's been a long time since he trusted anyone he met.

He doesn't actually fall for Riza's joke, though, and a moment's amusement flashes in his eyes.

"I could make one up."

It's said archly, a teasing response that shows some of the sly humor he's known for in the Capitol's social scene. But what Riza says next makes him lift his eyebrows. He glances at the notice she indicates, then back at her.

"Found anyone yet?"

She smirks at his response. Oh, she just bets he could make up a password to use. "I hope it's a good one," she quips, quite used to such banter.

The fact that no one had really taken her up on her offer yet hardly bothered her. After all, she'd only just recently put the notification up. It could take time -- weeks even -- to find someone either willing to teach her or willing to negotiate. So when Finnick asked her she merely shrugged, "Not yet. But the day is still young and I don't have a whole lot else going on."

Lacking in Skill

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