Phillip Dean

“A fine piece of ancient history”, Adam commented, looked at the jar and just gave a nod. It was for good use for sure, but Adam rather shot first and then gave the donation. His brow raised slowly at hat humble brag of how this tiny guy used 50lbs bow and then even dared to suggest 45 to 55 to Adam? The blue eyes just stared at the mand dead in the eye. “Give me the 60 with 32s.” Adam wasn’t here to play, he knew how to use bow and arrows and he wasn’t a tiny guy who needed tiny equipment and he definitely wasn’t 191cm of muscle for nothing.

Of course, Phillip had no intention of purposefully insulting Adam. But he also gathered that Adam was the type to get insulted whether the other had intended it or not. He held his hands up in a mock surrender as the man requested his equipment. “By all means. As you wish.” he turned, grabbing the appropriate items and turning, handing them back to him “Go nuts. The field is yours.”

Honey held in the snorted-laugh that was about to escape her, knowing full well how he felt. “That’s how I feel in the lab sometimes. Some people just adding chemicals willy-nilly and then immediately regretting their decisions when something explodes in their face.” She shook her head for a short moment as she reached for the bow he presented her. Honey waited for him to give her direction, but blushed as he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, helping to guide the proper way to hold the bow. “Uhm…” she blushed at his question, turning her head until their noses pressed together, making her chuckle. “I’m blind on a good day, but I’m going to assume my right eye is dominant.”

Phillip started to tell her which eye to close, but then couldn’t help but find himself smiling and, ultimately, chuckling as she did, their noses pressed together. Finally, it settled down a little and, still grinning, he continued. “Then close your left and focus on the target with your right. Tell me when you’re in focus, and ill guide your hands.” his tongue ran lightly over his bottom lip “Unfortunately, you can’t shoot with your nose butterfly kissing mine.”

“…..me?” wendy pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, eyeing the other skeptically. sure, she’d grown up reading stories all about the tales of robin hood and his friend, little john, so she’d always been fascinated by a bow and arrow, but that was make-believe! oh, she could vividly recall all the times they’d forgotten about fighting pirates for the day, instead running about the family nursery with her brothers, pretending to fling arrows their enemies’ way while in search of the king’s treasure — there was always treasure! “it’s not that i don’t have any 𝒸𝑜𝓃𝒻𝒾𝒹𝑒𝓃𝒸𝑒 in you, phillip…..it’s truly the opposite. i simply don’t have any confidence in my own…..erm…..lack of ability. frankly, i’d merely be a liability to this festival and you.”

“Haven’t I told you before how much I hate going by my first name?” he teased with a slight roll of his eyes and a chuckle. “And, trust me, you are not the first person to come up here and say that. I swear no one in this town has any faith in their own physical abilities. Do you really think I’d set up an archery booth and sign all those liability waivers if I didn’t believe I would be able to teach anyone well enough to at least not injure someone in the process?”

The blonde smirked at Phillip’s comment, shaking her head slowly as she watched him. “Why am I under the impression that you’ve been dying to tell someone to listen to you? Hm?” Honey watched his stance closely before moving to stand on the x, mimicking the wsay he had stood before as her eyes found his face. “How am I doing, Mr. Dean? Do I get an A?”

“The amount of people that have come up to this booth, grabbed an arrow and a terribly ill-fit bow and starting shooting all willy-nilly would make you want someone to finally listen to you, too.” he chuckled, watching her as she took her stance, nodding in slight approval. His lips turned to a smirk as he handed her the bow at the conclusion of her question. He nearly cringed at the ‘Mr.Dean’ comment, making him think of himself as his father, but he was able to brush it off since it was coming from such a lovely source. “For now, I’d say you’re at a B plus. But the tricky part hasn’t even started yet.” he teased, reaching to place each of her hands in the appropriate place on the bow, sliding the arrow into it’s position as well. Then he moved behind her, moving so his arms were wrapped around her form, able to guide each of her hands. “Okay. Do you know which eye of yours is dominant?”

     ╰ · ❀ › LOOKING OVER AT the suction cup tipped arrows, aurora laughed. “ how absolutely adorable. “ she picked one up, flipping it upside down to take a look. “ i bet all the children you’ve seen at this booth are far better than i’ll ever be. i’ve got no hand-eye coordination. it’s embarrassing, really. “ setting the kiddie arrow back down she sighed. “ i’m sure if anyone ends up going to the er, you will never hear the end of it. and not just from the town council. “ she meant his parents. they were a lot like hers, she understood how that could be. “ but i don’t know. if i learn archery, then the whole damsel in distress image i have going on is ruined. i wouldn’t need someone to rescue me out in the woods anymore. “ she teased, but it did sound like fun.

Phillip grinned at his friend with a nod, knowing exactly what she meant by her comment. “My parent’s practically are the town council at this point.” he joked “And yes, I’d never hear the end of it. They’re already mad enough I’m down teaching peasants how to sling arrows instead of strutting around in a four piece suit for their publicity photos.” Phillip raised a brow at her next comment, chuckling “Hey, maybe some form of self defense would be good for you. You don’t want to get caught in a situation where a striking, handsome, strong young hero like myself can’t swoop in and save you.”

“For once someone who actually knows what they’re doing”, Adam commented, mostly to himself than to this man. He stepped by the booth, eyed at the trophys – in his eyes it was stupid to bring such things in an event like this and rub on other’s faces that they were good at something. Adam was good in several things but no one truly knew about it and he was fine with that. “I did some fencing back in the day”, he said and looked at the bow and the arrow. “How much is it? The cost and the draw weight of the bow.”

Phillip smirked at the semi compliment, nodding “hey, that’s rare to find these days. Fencing and archery is practically ancient history at this point.” he said with a grin. Of course, he obviously knew there were places around. But they certainly weren’t either of the two most popular sports in America. “no cost, but I am taking donations for the National Fallen Firefighter’s Association, if you’re interested.” he gestured to a jar at the edge of the table. “I have a full range of bows here, even children’s. My personal bow weight is 50lbs, which is a little on the heavy side for someone of my size but I prefer it that way. But I’ve got just about anything you could want back here. Looking at you, I’d suggest somewhere in the 45-55 range would be perfect.”

“Is that supposed to be a pun?” Milo asked inquisitively. Amidst the sights and sounds of the festival, the archery booth certainly managed to stick out. Mostly because it wasn’t your usual ‘throw a ball, hit a thing, win a thing’ kind of attraction. No, this one was more involved. And dangerous. Which at least managed to intrigue Milo. “Okay, wait. So, I’m confused. Is this like a game sort of deal? Or is this an instructional kind of class? Because I think I’m getting some mixed signals, here.” Milo bemused with a slight chuckle as he surveyed the various arrows and bows on offer to try. Most of the time, booth owners weren’t really invested in the success of their patrons. In fact, it was usually the opposite. “Either way,” He circled back, finally focusing back to the man. “I don’t think you wanna take my on. These kinds of…sports? Is archery technically a sport? Aren’t really my thing. Especially when you start introducing pointy things to the mix. Then, I’m just worried it could get ugly. No matter how confident you think you are at teaching, something tells me I could be a liability.”

“It wasn’t supposed to be but now that you mention it I wish I had thought of that first.” Phillip laughing, dialing it in the back of his mind to continue using the phrase, only now intentionally as a pun. “Kind of a mix of the two. I show you how to shoot and you get to give it a try. No special prizes other than the satisfaction of succeeding at a fun new skill.” Once again, Phillip chuckled at Milo. “You aren’t the first to say that. Most people that have come up today are convinced they’ll hurt someone or something. I assure you you won’t, if you listen to my instruction. But if you’d feel better, you can try it with the children’s arrows. They’re kind of like a nerf gun. No pointy ends.”

Violet doubted she’d get the bullseye again, but it was worth it to try. She took the arrow handed to her, and stanced up as she did before. Perhaps because she was trying so hard this time did it feel unnatural, and when she did eventually pull back the arrow and let it go, it didn’t again get the bullseye. It did, however, land a few inched right and above it, which was enough for Violet. “Not quite as lucky this time,” she said, “but close enough.” 

A newcomer hitting the bullseye twice would have been an insane coincidence, even doing as well as she did was impressive. Phillip nodded approvingly “You’re pretty good at this. Maybe you should consider taking it up as a hobby” 

“I guess I didn’t realize my own strength- or power, as you said,” Anna admitted, already stanced up to shoot again. Upon being handed a beginner’s bow, she reluctantly took it- she wanted to use the big bow! But she didn’t let her disappointment show. She took the appropriate stance, as she was shown. “Like this?” She did as she was told- closed her left eye, focused on the target, tried not to pull her arm back too far- and let the arrow fly once again. This time, it hit not quite the bullseye, but a little to the left of it. “Much better!” Anna exclaimed. 

Phillip watched her closely, analyzing her movements. He wasn’t always fond of teaching, but he did find it very helpful for sharpening his skills. If he could detect problems in other people’s technique, then he could remember to correct them in his own. He also watched and attempted to mimic professionals for the same reason. He grinned “There you go! Hey, it’s impressive that you even made it on the board.” he grabbed another arrow. “Try again, you’re starting to get the hang of it.”

Honey watched Phillip closely, noting the way he went straight for the children’s arrows before he gave her a slow once-over. Although she felt herself blush, the blonde sighed and pushed up from her leaning position, already moving towards the male slowly. “Fine. But if it veers off the intended path and I hit someone, I’m never speaking to you again.” She smirked as she said this, biting at her bottom lip in the next moment. “Where would you like me to stand?”

“It won’t veer off anywhere if you listen to me. Remember, I’m a pro.” he winked, grabbing the safety arrow and the largest children’s bow he had, moving to gesture to one of the x’s he’d made on the ground with spray paint. “Stand here. Like this.” he said, showing her the stance with his own body before stepping away from the x and gesturing for her to take the position. “Then I’ll show you how to hold the bow.”

In one of their long text conversations, Phillip had let it slip that he was setting up a booth for the Summer Festival. Looking for any and every excuse to get out of the apartment, she didn’t hesitate to go where the other booths were set up, taking her time to get to Phillip’s. As a group of young kids ran by her excitedly talking about the bullseyes they’d just achieved, the blonde bounced quickly to where the archery station was set up, leaning against the booth itself as she watched him work. Upon making eye contact, Honey grinned at Phillip as he moved to face her, her arms crossing over her torso. “Oh me? No way. One wrong move and I’ll probably impale you; only this time, it’ll be with an actual weapon instead of my elbow.”

“Oh, come on. Don’t be so hard on yourself.” he smirked, picking up one of the safety arrows for the kids “Besides, I’ve got child-proof arrows. Perfect for you.” he teased, allowing his eyes to wander over her for a moment. “I can show you how to do it. You’ll be beating my record in no time.”

“Oh my gosh, yes! That sounds like so much fun! You mind holding this?” Anna handed the man running the archery booth a cone of cotton candy that she had been munching on, and selected her bow and arrow. “I’ve never tried this before, so wish me luck!” At first, she realized that she was holding the bow backwards. “Whoops!” Once bow and arrow were in the correct position, Anna pulled back as much as she could, let go, and  the arrow went flying over the mark and into another booth! “Shoot I’m so sorry,” she cried as she ran after the arrow. Once she returned with it, she traded the arrow for her cotton candy. “Well, I missed the bullseye, but you gotta admit, that thing went flying! It was awesome!” 

Once again, Phillip was unable to even begin his talk about technique or safety before the girl had already begin. To his trained eye, he could tell as soon as she lifted the bow that the shot was going to be a complete miss. But, he kept his mouth shut. When the arrow went flying into another booth, though, he cursed, worried someone was hurt. But once it was clear nothing had gone terribly wrong, he let himself chuckle. “Definitely got some power behind that arm of yours. Let’s try to at least get within a yard of the target this time?” he chuckled, handing her a beginners bow to try. “Here, stand like this...” he said, showing her the appropriate stance. “And don’t pull your arm back so far. And close your left eye and focus on the target with your open eye.”

Violet shrugged. She hadn’t really wanted to come to the summer festival, but the other, more extroverted Parrs had dragged her along. Somewhere along the way, they all had split off, leaving Violet to entertain herself. This could be fun, in that at least if she got a bullseye, she could brag about it to Dash and Jack-Jack. “Alright, I’ll give it a go,” she agreed, taking a bow and arrow and taking her stance. It was harder to pull back the arrow then she had expected- Katniss Everdeen made it look so easy- but as soon as she let go, it flew straight into the bullseye. “Holy shit,” she muttered in disbelief, “I did it.”

Phillip was making his way from behind the table, grabbing a beginner bow and moving to make his whole schpeal in regards to safety and techniques. but before he could make it that far, the woman had already shot the arrow. Luckily for her, hitting the bullseye. “Hey! Some luck!” Phillip reached behind him, grabbing another arrow and handing it to her “Try again. ”

        ╰ · ❀ › AURORA HAD FINALLY broken away from her parents, even if just for a moment. they had a tendency to be a bit suffocating, always wanting her to look presentable and classy because she was representing the family, always being polite and lady-like. sometimes it was all too much to handle. wandering the festival on her own, aurora searched for something exciting to do and she found it in the form of phillip’s archery booth. not only was her a familiar face but the idea of archery seemed a bit dangerous and un-lady-like, something her parents would forbid. “ don’t have so much faith, phillip. you know if i tried that, we’d both end up in the er. “ she laughed, picking up an arrow and giving it a look over. 

Phillip smirked at the familiar face, chuckling with a shake of his head. “We can start with the kiddie arrows” he gestured to his pile of suction arrows- much like a nerf gun- that he had for the kids at the festival. “And, don’t forget, I’m a trained professional. I would never let anything bad happen to you. Besides that, I had to sign a whole lot of paperwork to have this booth here so if anyone ends up in the ER I’m going to be paying a lot of money.”

Adam had left to town without even knowing this whole festival or whatever was going on. He had tried avoiding people by taking a short cut through the harbor, but since there were a lot of people there too Adam decided to take yet another short cut to get home. Expect he ended up in the middle of the festival area. Who the hell had even decided to put the main things in that exact spot in the first place? As Adam looked around himself he realised to get home he really would have to go through the area. There wasn’t really way to go around. Or well, he could go around, but that’d take forever. So with extremely unpleased expression on his face he started to walk through the area, but the guy asking about shooting did get Adam’s attention. He looked at the guy and then what kind of shooting he was talking about. “Archery?” he asked raising his brow a bit.

“Indeed, indeed.” Phillip said as the sour faced man approached his booth with interest. He wasn’t too surprised, he knew the type. “I’m a world champion.” he gestured to the trophies in the back. “i fence too, but that’s not nearly as easy to teach to the general public.” he joked lightly, holding up and arrow out to the man “Want to give it a spin?”