Though his expression remained calm the corners of his eyes had tightened with the strain of concentrating on so many things at once. Maintaining two target-shields, keeping them spinning in opposite directions, and swimming with his chest and shoulders out of the water was stretching the limit of his mental discipline.
But not breaking it.
Melita's first arrow struck home to his left and Hadama twisted sideways as the water shield caught the projectile's tip and shifted it far enough off-course to miss the mermanta by no more than a few inches. The second arrow was a breath behind the first and no less on target. The shield wobbled but held its shape and rotation enough to shift the arrow just far enough that though it grazed Hadama's long hair, it missed his skin.
He took a moment to draw a few steadying breaths, merging his watery creations back into one while he considered one more test, then nodded slowly to himself. "Aim wherever you want," he called to Mel. "I will move the shield to meet it." This time he begin swimming faster and eeling through the water with sinuous, less predictable shifts in direction.
But not breaking it.
Melita's first arrow struck home to his left and Hadama twisted sideways as the water shield caught the projectile's tip and shifted it far enough off-course to miss the mermanta by no more than a few inches. The second arrow was a breath behind the first and no less on target. The shield wobbled but held its shape and rotation enough to shift the arrow just far enough that though it grazed Hadama's long hair, it missed his skin.
He took a moment to draw a few steadying breaths, merging his watery creations back into one while he considered one more test, then nodded slowly to himself. "Aim wherever you want," he called to Mel. "I will move the shield to meet it." This time he begin swimming faster and eeling through the water with sinuous, less predictable shifts in direction.
