The Bow, the Arrow, the Target (solo)

Archery made you hurt in the weirdest places.

Since Katrina's equipment was an illusion - although a painfully realistic one - Sir Gawain / Maid Maya had to go downtown to get brand new weapons to practice with. Who knows why, as well equipped as the Mansion was, historical weapons were scrace to the point of nonexistent in the school armory.

In the weeks following Christmas many archery stores in and around New York City were experiencing the same curious phenomenon: bows went missing for a day or two, and just about when the owners started looking for a thief, they showed up on a shelf or hidden under a desk again. Arrows went missing too, as well as some other pieces of equipment. The latter usually showed up again. Not all of the arrows, though.

It was amazing, how many types and kinds of bows you could find a modern city like New York. Sir Gawain went for the simple ones first, the types used for historical reenactment, but he soon realized longbows were clumsy to wield, as well as hard to find (and, um, borrow), so he settled for what most of the stores had: compound bows. Most of those looked like they could receive a few channels and HBO if he waved them around, with all the metal bits and pieces sticking out of them, and the multiple stings annoyed the heck out of the young knight by the time he managed to find out how to use them. Some of these weapons didn't even resemble real bows, and lacked a certain elegance. He took those back to the store too. As well as the ones too strong for him. There were quite a few.

In those first few weeks, Gawain's left forearm developed a constant bruise that only changed in color, not in size (it went from black to purple, green and yellow, then to black again); lost most of the feel in his right fingers, and pulled more than one muscle in his back and shoulder he didn't even know the name of.
He was not going for the perfect bow. Not at once. He just wanted something to practice with. That's why he finally settled for one, about mid-January. He got arrows (that looked more like knitting needles, and got lost in grass very easy), a quiver, gloves, and protectors for his arm and shoulder made of kevlar, that actually looked kinda cool. Satisfied with his equipment for the time being, Sir Gawain was ready to start practicing for real.

Hey now.
Have you ever read about Robin Hood paying for a bow and arrows? Does 'Prince of Thieves' ring a bell?
Duh.