Vegetables are not effective weapons

Asina stood in the training area, absently kicking a foot sack around to see how many times she could keep it up in the air. She had a set of headphones in, listening to Tuvan throat singing as she waited for one of the younger Hunters to come to the training grounds for practice. The harmony and talent was fairly amazing, and Asina also found the deep throaty sounds calming and relaxing. One advantage of the 20th, or was it the 21st, century was that she had access to all sorts of music that she never would have been exposed to. Most that hadn't been invented. She liked music.

Seven, kick, eight, kick, whoah, too high, back, back, kick, nine? Nine. Wait. Damn. Nine. The hacky-sack had hit the ground. Asina leanded over and picked the ball up, then noticed the young Hunter, Trisha, was approaching. The daughter of Pluto adjusted her dark sunglasses, straightening up. "Greetings, Trisha. What would you like to practice with today?"

Trisha walked into the training area, her stomach churning nervously as if it were full of butterflies. It still felt weird being a Hunter of Artemis, but she hoped that she might adjust to it soon. The other Hunters did not seem to mind that the daughter of Demeter was a vegetarian. Though she still tried not to feel too guilty about declining the food offered to her by one of the first Hunter's she met. Wild Boar ribs just weren't something she would or could eat. Trisha simply did not eat meat.
"Hey Asina!" Trisha called to the older Hunter with a big friendly grin on her face. Ah practice, yes well they'd already establish she wasn't the greatest archer in the world, though decent enough to beat most mortals.

"Erm... Throwing carrots and parsnips maybe?" She meant it as a joke, Trisha didn't really know many types of weapons or how to use them. Maybe if one threw them hard enough the veg might find itself able to do some damage.

Asina chuckled at the joke about throwing carrots. "Unless you plan to choke them with them, I do not think that is the best weapon. Although, I have never been fond of parsnips. It could be a effective weapon if you threaten to put it my stew." She replied, before looking over to the rack of weapons she had set up. "I know you are not fond of the bow, strangely. Would you like to practice using a spear? I have always favored the hasta myself."

Phew, Asina laughed. "My stews are amazing!" She declared even though back home or when she had lived back on the farm Trisha only cooked the one stew. "Well... Its not I'm not fond of it just I'm not as good as the rest of you." Trisha explained to her. "Is the Hasta a type of pasta? I don't think pasta is going to make a good spear."

"Hasta. It's a Roman spear." Asina explained, opening her scrotum purse so that it turned into a five cubit long Hasta, it's elm shaft gleamed with it's age and oils from years of use, and the silver tip looked sharp and deadly. "My countrymen used these with great regard for a couple hundred years before I was born, and again switched to them after when horsed riders became a common opponent. The hasta is better for long range attacks than the gladius or other swords, but not as long range as a bow and arrow. It's used not for throwing, like a pilum, but for thrusting."

To emphasize what she said, Asina thrust the spear forward, about a foot from the left of her fellow hunter. Like the bow, the hasta was one of the weapons that Asina had naturally felt comfortable with, unlike the sword which had taken her hundreds of years to become proficient with. Despite the fact that the spear towered over her, she moved it with ease. The strong wood felt solid and sturdy in her hand. She pulled it up and slammed the butt of it into the ground in front of Trisha. "Try it."

Trisha nodded silently as Asina explained to her what a Hasta was. Unfortunately it wasn't pasta. She recalled that Asina was Roman or Greek, she might have studied Greece or Rome in history at school. If she remembered correctly anyway. Her next question after she accepted the Hasta from the older Hunter happened to be. "The Pilum that is a javelin yes?" Either that or it was some form of throwing spear.

The weapon felt awkward in Trisha's hands, she thrust the weapon forward just like Asina had demonstrated yet the motion came across as clumsy and somewhat awkward. At least that was how it felt in comparison to the skilled movements of Asina. Handling farming and other agricultural equipment came to her much more naturally than weaponry. Trisha by nature was just a peaceful, kind and friendly person. One of those naturally friendly people who where happiest when they were being kind and seemed to not possess a bad bone in their body.

"The Pilum could be described as a heavy javelin or a throwing spear. Roman soldiers would launch them from as far as 40 cubits, uh, around 60 feet, into the hordes of oncoming attackers. The pilum would either stab into the attacker, or into their shield, bending and making the shield useless." Asina explained, watching Trisha hold the hasta.

"It is not a plow or a shovel, child, hold it a little more lightly in your hands, bring your dexterous hand forward. Or, are you sinister?"

She listened to Asina's explanation, the daughter of Demeter making a mental note to not allow herself to get struck by a Pilum any time soon. "Sinister?" Trisha repeated the word. "Why would I be sinister?" She looked confused as she struggled to follow the suggestions set out by Asina.
The arts of war were clearly something foreign to the child of Demeter. Trisha sighed, still holding the weapon awkwardly in her hands. "This feels weird." She admitted to the other Hunter, hoping that maybe she wasn't the only Hunter who found fighting to be difficult.

Asina knew as soon as Trisha spoke that she had used outdated terminology again and confused the other Hunter. So what was the modern English word for sinister? "Gauche. No, that's French. Dexterous is right... And there's nothing wrong with being sinister. It may have once been considered a bad omen, a sign of evil, but some people are just born wrong-handed. Left! Yes! Left-handed. And things will feel less weird with time. It took me about three hundred years to stop hurting myself with the sword."

"Right." Trisha replied still looking a bit confused, it still messed with her mind that some of the Hunters were thousands of years old. She herself happened to still be the same age which she became a Hunter. Who knew, perhaps one day she might live to be thousands of years old.

This happened to be the first time Trisha had ever handled a spear, so it felt awkward in her hands. She would have preferred a pitch fork or a shovel or any other type of common garden equipment. "I... It is difficult to use this weapon but it might come to me in time." She said hopefully.

"Exactly! No one expects you to be an expert with a weapon the first time you hold it." Asina said, taking another hasta from the rack and twirling it a little. "Let's go over thrusts. You can do an one or two-handed thrust with these. Over-head is usually a one handed thing, from shoulder level and below it can be one hand, but is usually both hands, with the less skilled hand in back to help hold the spear at the upward thrusting angel."

Asina then demonstrated by taking the hasta and holding it over her head and thrusting it down and into a dummy. She pulled it out, then demonstrated holding the spear with two hands and ramming it into the dummy with an upward thrust.

Trisha copied her attacks, the weapon stroke felt awkward with one hand the spear feeling rather heavy in her hand. It felt easier using two when she rammed it into the dummy using both of her hands. It was almost like using a pitch fork to remove old bedding from an animal pen.
She struggled to pull her spear out from the target afterwards. Trisha planted her feet, before pulling the spear free from the target. She fell back on her back, her spear slipping out of her grasp and it rolled on the ground. "Ow." Trisha said looking up at the sky. "I think that means I died." She smiled at Asina. "Taken out by a target bet that is bad." She forced herself up not bothered by the mud that now covered her back in the slightest.

Asina shrugged slightly at Trisha's words. "Many Hunters, mortals and demigods have perished when they tried to best their prey. It is certainly not our goal, but there is no shame in a death during the hunt." She said, her voice even, though there was a distinct edge to it. "However, if you die by a hay-filled training dummy, I will be morally obligated to tell all the spirits of the underworld to never let you live that down. Die that down? Ehh.  Whatever." Asina said, forcing a smile and showing her macabre sense of humor.

Trisha winced at her unfortunate choice of words. Till recently the daughter of Demeter never even knew that monsters existed or of her true heritage. "I'd rather keep living." She whispered quietly, getting herself up off of the ground. "Yeah I think I'd be reborn because of that embarrassing ending." Trisha stabbed the target again, this time able to withdraw it without falling over. She still stumbled, yet the young Hunter managed to keep her balance, though her cheeks still turned red from it.

Asina laughed and patted Trisha on the back genially. She took her spear and thrust it into the dummy. "Twist slightly when you pull, it helps the barbs tear an opening back out. Or you can pull directly back at the same angle you thrust in." She said, twisting and pulling her spear out as more hay came with it.

It would take some time before the smaller Hunter got used to it and built up the strength, but Asina had a feeling that she would become comfortable with a spear. "You're doing well. Even if I did have to threaten you with eternal humiliation."

Trisha smiled at Asina laugh and gentle pat on the back. Asina was already becoming like an older sister to her, despite the pair only knowing each other for a very brief period. She watched her demonstration then copied it as to the best of her ability. It wasn't very good, she appeared to lack any natural aggression even against straw targets. She was just far too friendly.

"Well I'm sure you can find something else with which to threaten me with." The daughter of Demeter joked, hoping secretly that she would never suffered from eternal humiliation. Though falling right on your butt by pulling a spear out of your target happened to be very embarrassing.

Asina smiled when Trisha made the joke about threatening her with something else. The Roman patted Trisha heartily on the back again. "That's the spirit! I will have to find something better to threaten you with. Although some things might get me in trouble. For some reason I'm not allowed to wake up fellow hunters with tap dancing skeletons anymore. Even found the bugger a top-hat and everything."

Asina grabbed a canteen and handed it to Trisha. "I think the spear is coming to you, you just need a little more umph. Passion. Panic will work in a pinch."

Trisha smiled at Asina imaging that would have been quite funny so long as it hadn't happened to her. "Yeah it is hard to imagine why that would prove unpopular." She joked again. The child of Demeter accepted the canteen and awkwardly undid the lid whilst holding her spear. She took a few gulps of the water before offering it back to Asina.

"Thanks." Her cheeks warming at her praise. "Passion? I've never been very good at that unless it is working on a farm." There were a lot of farming ways which she disagreed with, well her father's ways of farming at least. It was the main reason as to why she became a vegetarian.
"Just so long as you know I might panic throw veg." She commented playfully, laughing at her latest joke.

"Don't try to rush the passion, sometimes you have to learn to love something. Fires can burn hot and bright, but the ones that start out the hottest tend to use their fuel first and fizzle out like fireworks. But even a slow burn can turn into a blazing wild fire." Asina said, then she tilted her head. "If you start panic throwing vegetables, can I get a few rutabaga for dinner tonight? I am an excellent cook, you know."

Trisha listened to Asina carefully, taking her advice. "Okay I am trying to understand." She continued to smile at the other Hunter, she liked Asina even if she happened to be a child of the Underworld. She laughed at her next comment. "Well I can make you some now but it will make me pretty tired." She winked at her friend. "That is how I get some of my veg since I don't eat the meat that most of our Hunters like."

Asina nodded, "As a farmer and daughter of Ce- Demeter, I am sure you are much more inclined towards vegetables naturally. Most children of the agriculture goddess are not inclined to follow the Hunt, preferring to lay down roots, both literally and figuratively. Of course, there are many of us who do not fit the stereotypes. For instance, I don't wear black and brood...although some of the stereotypes fit me well. Dancing skeletons and what not."

"Well I like to be the exception to the rule, well some of the rules anyway." She beamed at the other Hunter quite pleased. Trisha laughed quietly. "Yes just so long as you don't wake me up with them or serve me meat I'm fine with that." At the moment the child of Demeter could not imagine living her life all in one place. Living on a far for most of her life filled her with a strong sense of wanderlust.
Of course eventually she might find the desire gone but, at the present life was too much of an adventure to even think about spending it all in just one place. "I'm sure there have been other daughters of Demeter who chose to join the hunt?" She asked somewhat nervously, the thought of being the only one filled her with a bit of fear and apprehension.

Asina looked at Trisha and raised an eye at the comment about other daughters of Demeter joining the hunt. "Yes, during my time, but few and far between. You are not the first, but I do believe you are currently the only one. In that, you and I are equals. I am currently the only daughter of Pluto, though we have had daughters of Hades before. Our last one did not last very long, unfortunately. Quest gone bad right near the start of the Titan War."

Trisha happened to be quite relieved to find out that she was not the first daughter of Demeter to join the ranks of the Hunters. "Well it is nice to hear that I am not the only one." She left unsaid that she would have felt like she had some big shoes to fill then. She was saddened to hear of the loss of a daughter of Hades however. Death wasn't something she liked to experience or know about. "Sorry to hear that." Trisha kept her next question to herself, deciding it might seem more than a bit rude to ask what the Titan War happened to be.
"Maybe you can teach me how to Hunter and I'll teach you agriculture?" Trisha quite like Asina, despite her being a daughter of Pluto. She had heard from the other Hunters that the children of Demeter and children of Hades or in this case Pluto tended to not get on with anyone.

Abigail was the kind of person who didn't mess around when she had a task at hand. Focus, determination, and relentless effort were the three elements needed to master a new skill. She walked into the training grounds that day with the intent to keep her skills as sharp as her arrows and knives. The best way to do this was to do what the hunters did best: hunt. She'd had her fill already today, and there became a point when hunting was overkill anyway. At least when it came to domestic animals, but you could never kill enough monsters.

"Asina." Abigail said in greeting. "And I don't believe I've met you yet." Abigail said to the other girl. She walked by them, saying her greetings, but not stopping to do so. She studied a dummy closely, inspecting if it was already damaged or not. This one would do just fine.