Elisabeth raised her head from where she had busied herself gathering an arrangement of daisies, startled at the familiar voice. A few moments passed as she attempted to place its memory, before she turned and saw Alexei Ivanov in the doorway.

Without his princely finery, it took longer than Elisabeth would like to admit for recognition to dawn.

"Your Grace," she teased, arising from her seat to fall into a curtsey. "What brings you to my humble cottage?"

Then her green eyes fell upon the bag and box in his hands, and an eyebrow lifted, curious despite herself.

"I see you come bringing gifts. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Genuine fondness rang in the words. For all their competitive bluster, the time they had spent at their archery competition was a pleasant one; if there was one thing Elisabeth could respect, it was a worthy rival in all things.

Social ✿ Outfit ✿ Alexei Ivanov

Elisabeth was, despite herself, first and foremost a curious creature.

She peeked over at the bag like a Skitty might examine a new ball of yarn, only to be denied by Alexei Ivanov's careful guard. "You pique my interest, sir," the florist said, grinning back. "And if you want archery lessons, I suppose I could try... although, I don't know if I have any equipment around here?"

She pursed her lips, glancing about her little cottage before snapping her fingers.

"Oh that's right! I did rent a bow recently to practise for that competition in Fortree."

The woman was, if nothing else, frightfully competitive.

Elisabeth disappeared for a moment into the back before returning with the promised bow and a quiver of arrows, gesturing for Alexei to follow her to the back garden.

"What to use as a target..." she mused to herself, frowning.

Social ✿ Outfit ✿ Alexei Ivanov

It was at this point that an impish idea took hold of Elisabeth.

"One moment," she sang out, finger lifted, as she ran to the back of her flower shop. Her Roselia peered out from the greenhouse, curious as the florist gathered a series of flowers and assorted leaves into her arms.

Splaying them out on the table, the blonde rushed off upstairs and returned with a green pillow, her expression positively devious as she began to prop the pillow up with the long stalks like a scarecrow, while petals and flower heads filled the interior; two long rose stems, one black and one purple, stuck out like arms on either side. On top of the makeshift mannequin, Elisabeth placed a green apple she grabbed from her kitchen counter, on top of which she sat a delicate rose.

It looked, suspiciously, very much like the Roselia who had begun spying on Elisabeth's little mission. And Primrose looked none too pleased at where her mistress seemed to be going with this.

"There we are," Elisabeth hummed, picking up the flowery dummy. "A perfect target. To the gardens, then."

In the fervor of her own smug self-satisfaction, she immediately found a perfect place in the back to prop this faux-Roselia against: a trellis of crawling rose vines.

"Take the bow and arrow in your hands," she instructed Alexei Ivanov, "and let me see your stance."

Social ✿ Outfit ✿ Alexei Ivanov

To his concerns about her Roselia, Elisabeth airily waved a hand. "Primrose's vanity is the stuff of legends. She will manage a little bruising to her ego just fine."

Besides, it was the tiniest bit funny to see her glower so indignantly.

Elisabeth assessed Alexei Ivanov thoughtfully, looking him up and down. "Feet should be shoulder length apart," she said, gently nudging him to the correct posture as she spoke. "And you'll want to be standing perpendicular to the target... All with the straightest posture you can manage, of course."

The altogether result was something like a T-shape, one that Alexei had mostly managed save for a few small corrections on her part.

How he held the bow and arrow itself, however, resulted in an approving smile on Elisabeth's lips. "You've done this before, I see," she teased, knowing firsthand how true that knowledge was. "Why don't you try aiming and seeing how the arrow flies?"

So saying, she stepped aside to seat herself in one of her outdoor bistro chairs, watching with rapt curiosity. A small audience of her garden Pokémon had gathered, her Vivillon and Butterfree each hovering on either side of her curiously.

Visible in the doorway, her Roselia was still sulking at the injustice of the dummy her mistress had so cruelly fashioned.

Social ✿ Outfit ✿ Alexei Ivanov

As the arrow clattered and fell, a strange rustling started up out of nowhere; turning around revealed the joyous dance of one Primrose, the Roselia gleefully twirling in place at the failure of the archer to meet his mark.

"That is very rude, Prim," Elisabeth sighed. "No one likes a sore winner."

The blonde then looked skyward, shielding her eyes as she did so with the tiniest frown. Wind tousled the strands of her blonde hair, whisking at her skirts.

"I think the weather can be blamed for that one," she said at last. "The wind isn't doing you any favors."

Elisabeth turned to look at him once more, nudging a foot back into place approvingly. She looked at his hands, the way the bow was pulled just-so, and smiled.

"I don't know if I can recommend running with a bow-and-arrow," she admitted, laughing, "and if you wish to, I can't say I'd have the expertise you need. My skill at hunting is very remedial in comparison."

Having said this, she crossed her arms, nodding.

"Try again. I think the winds are calming this time."

And so they continued into the evening, arrows whistling past into the target again and again.

Social ✿ Outfit ✿ Alexei Ivanov