While Anya had always tried her best not to pick up the bratty habits of the people around her, when you spend enought time with them, there is really nothing you can do about it. She had to reminded herself to watch her tongue when she was speaking with Sage... to make sure she didn't say anything demeaning. She wouldn't normally care what people thought about her... Why should she? She should be respected whether she was kind or not. It seemed like that way in the castle, at least. Out here though, for saying something stupid she was likely to get her head bonked in. But she found herself rather fond of Sage. She wanted him to like her. It seemed like they were friends, but it was always a concern that she would say something to put him off, that could scare him away. Anya wasn't up tight by any means... but around him, she could relax a little. She didn't have to talk in a certain way, or act like something she simply wasnt. He had no idea who she was, which made everything seem a little more lax. Suddenly, the worry of the maid she had ran into popped into her head. If she said anything, it would be both her and Sage who would suffer... But Sage had lizzie to look after. He couldn't do anything about what happened in the castle... it was up to her to keep anyone from finding out. Though, she felt obliged to tell him to keep an eye out. "Sage," she breathed in, "I bumped into on of the maids last night, on my way back. She shouldn't say anything, but it'd be smart just to keep an eye out - I don't want anything happening to you." She grumbled quietly.

Sage glanced over his shoulder for a moment and then grunted. "I always keep an eye out. It's not just higher ups I have to look out for," he reminded her gently. "I do appreciate you warning me though." He shrugged gently. "Don't worry too much about it, alright? You said she most likely wouldn't tell, and unless she has a reason to, she won't. And she won't have a reason if you've treated her decently and no one asks. I'd no one else has seen you, then the latter shouldn't be an issue." Sage felt a warm feeling in his chest and a big grin on his face, suddenly glad she couldn't see his expression. She said she didn't want anything to happen to him, which implied that she did really like him. He hadn't heard that from someone in forever. Even Lizzie wasn't verbal about her affection, though they obviously loved each other immensely. It made him really happy to hear something like that, and he felt a bit stupid for getting so happy over a few simple words, but he couldn't help it.

Anya shook her head, and although he couldn't see, her brows were slightly furrowed in a worried expression. "That's the thing... I've never seen her before. I can't say I was overly friendly to her either." She grumbled. Anya hadn't been horrible per say, but she had been rather passive towards her. Still, it shouldn't be an issue, not unless the maid took it to heart. If she ran into the girl again, she would make a point to be friendlier towards her, just to be on the safe side. Anya let out a soft breath before lightly resting her head on Sage's back and watching as the woodlands started to become thicker with shrubs. Anya had wandered through a wooded area every day for about eight years, though it never got quite so... wonderous. Where they were looked like it had come straight out of a painting. Her little tunnel wasn't exactly deep in the forest, though, so that most likely just made this look even better. Eventually, trees started appearing with red and blue targets painted over their trunks, supposedly the ones he had talked about. It looked as though they had been well used, littered with slashes and holes from where people had been perfecting their skills. Anya lifted her head with a shallow smile, waiting for Sage to stop the stallion before sliding off his side.

Sage waited until Anya had gotten off and then hopped down from Jupiter's broad back. He patted the stallion with a smile on his face and the horse turned towards him and blew a breath in his face, nosing and licking the side of his head. Sage giggled and leaned away from the horses affection and strokes his head for a minute before patting his shoulder and stepping away. "Go home, bud. I'll see ya soon." The stallion tossed his head and trotted away. No doubt he would go graze for a bit before heading back to his yard. Sage turned to Anya and thought for a second before taking his dagger out and handing it to her. "It's heavier than the one I gave you but it'll give you more control as you get the basics down," he explained. Then he grinned. "I'll just need this one back," he joked. She knew he needed it and had no worries about her not giving it back.

Anya crooked her head at him when he offered the dagger. He was right, it was slightly bigger than the one he gave her and therefore heavier. She shrugged and took the dagger, holding it up and looking at her reflection for a few seconds before looking up at him. "Hmm, are you sure you need it back?" She joked, "I like how it makes my nose look." Anya chuckled and gave him a grin before turning to look at one of the less battered targets. She tilted her head at it slightly, pretending to swing the blade at the tree trunk a few times before scoffing at her childishness. Anya glanced back over at him, "If you can teach me to have a better throw than that old lady, that'd be amazing." She joked with a bright grin.

(Again, my writing is a little dodged atm, gonna get myself a coffee and should be fine ;-;)

(lol, it's all good, it makes sense and that's all I need XD)

Sage grinned at her remarks and then snickered at her last one. "The old lady throws with her arm, which is why it's so bad. Use your whole body and keep the angle of your hips in mind. Where you face is where the knifes gonna go." He grinned wider. "Besides, I think it'll take more than a dagger to make that nose look good," he teased, knowing that her nose was fine and she was pretty. And she knew it too. He pointed at one of the larger targets and pulled another small knife out from another hidden place of his shirt. It was a small, serrated edge, that could easily be blown aside and was more useful for cutting ropes or something like that than fighting, but he could throw it. "Aim with your hips up to your eyes. Where you aim and where you look is where it's going to hit." He tossed the knife slowly so she could get a feel of what he meant, and while he barely used any force it still sunk into the tree trunk. "Try it. And while you need some effort to toss that thing, chuck it as hard as you can and it's going to go into those bushes." He pointed off at the bushes next to the trees with a grin.

Anya wrinkled her nose at him playfully and shooked her head at his comment. "I'm not going to reply to that because you haven't seen quite how stunning this nose looks in this reflection," She joked, rolling her eyes slightly. She pursed her lips as she listened to him, trying to get herself into the position he was explaining. "Seems simple enough," she shrugged, glancing between Sage and the target before locking onto the target - or one of the many scars that it had, in hopes that she could land it in a similar place. The night before, Sage had mentioned aiming for the other side of what she was aiming for... but that was stabbing people, not throwing knives. The girl shook her head, convincing herself this was different before finally chucking the knife. Sure enough, it hit the target... with the handle, that is. It bounced onto the ground, the blade sticking into the undergrowth. "Shit," Anya complained before going to pick it back up and wandering back to the same spot, positioning herself just as she had before. The girl took a shallow breath before trying yet again. The same thing. She frowned and let out an irritated groan, marching back towards the dagger, stomping back, and trying again. This time though, she got stroppy and chucked it with all her force. As Sage said, it went straight into the bushes. The girl huffed and turned back to Sage with a clearly irritated look on her face, "Why's it going wrong?" She complained with a childish huff.

Sage grinned at her and shook his head. "You're too tense. You're moving your hips but your breathing and straight spine are messing with your aim." He walked over to her and put his hands on her shoulders, moving them forward slightly and using his own foot to nudge her dominant foot backwards. "Think of your body as being in a box when you stand. You're moving your torso forward when you throw, so your foot needs to be farther back. When you throw your gravitational center is moved so you have to readjust to even it out again." He poked her side lightly to loosen her back muscles up. "And just because the dagger is heavy doesn't mean you have to keep your entire back tense to hold it. Let the daggers weight carry itself, not try to throw and carry the weight at the same time." He stepped back slightly and shrugged. "You're doing well though. You did hit the tree, you just need the dagger to turn half a time more or less." He chuckled slightly. "It took me like...two or three months to perfect this. You're doing fine."

Anya wasn't overly used to being maneuvered the way Sage had done, not unless she was being chucked into her chambers at least, so she had been caught a little off guard. Though, Sage had no intention of locking her away, so she let herself relax a little. The girl nodded quietly and tried to keep the position he put her in. She glanced back at the boy, giving him a friendly smile as she wondered how he had managed to teach himself this sort of thing. He had pretty much taught himself everything, enough to be at least decently good at it. She hadn't a clue where he got the willpower to do all this and have the time to work and spend time with his little sister. It seemed like a superpower, and here she was getting all salty because she couldn't throw a knife properly. Anya glanced back at the target, taking a shallow breath as she tried to relax again, drawing the knife back before chucking it back towards the target. This time, the knife buried itself in the tree, though, it was nowhere near the target. Anya let a grin grow on her face, clearly pleased with herself. She wandered over and pulled the knife out before wandering back over, "It actually worked," She chirped brightly.

Sage laughed and nodded. "See? You're getting it. Next time breathe out slowly and then throw so your body is stable and your moving chest isn't throwing your aim off." He shrugged. "The little things all add up," he chuckled. He grabbed his own knife and put it away, knowing he didn't really need the practice but he would throw a few times if she wanted to see something, although he wasn't sure she needed it