auroraexpress | The Ninth Trial

[ ....That's kind of hot. He files that mentally away for later. ]

Alright! You're a beginner with this, so you're gonna want to use a two-handed grip. Like this, see?

[ He demonstrates with the gun he has in his own hand. ]

[She looks at him, taking in everything before she mirrors him.]

Understood.

Not bad.

[ Actually. He pauses, and then-- ]

I should ask, are you left-handed or right-handed?

Completely ambidextrous.

[She was born with it, and though people tend to favour certain hands even with ambidexterity, she always trains herself out of that if she finds herself leaning too hard one way or the other.

But it is even easier now, any ties she has left from Before only habit.]

Hey, me too!

[ He slightly favour his left hand, but nevertheless he's definitely got full use of both of his. ....Though he doesn't remember if he was born with it or not. ]

Okay, I don't have to worry about correcting your grip then.

That is interesting.

[She'd ask him more about it, but she's used to not asking him certain things, because, you know.

The obvious.]

Very well.

[She considers something.]

Shall I construct targets?

[ He'd love to be able to answer those questions. Unfortunately! He can't!

He hates it, thanks. ]

Yeah, can you do that with your magic?

[ He's guessing "yes" but you know. ]

Yes. I will do that now.

[She offers him back his gun. She only needs one hand to work, but he wants her to hold it with two hands for now. His gun, his rules, she will not argue.

Presuming he takes it, she turns to face the sea and reaches out for it, waving her hands to one side in a short gesture and much deeper to the other as though she means to build up momentum. The nearest waves mirror her movement, rolling with them. They rise high and rush in smooth cylinders. Almost absentmindedly she uses one hand to make a shooing motion and any fish caught are nudged back along to the sea properly.

Though. You know. She is kind of hung--

Focus.

This is not taking long by any means, but she could do this much faster, but she enjoys this, the push and pull of the waves. She feels them roll and churn in her soul, it's always deeply relaxing but exciting at the same time.

Her vague gestures grow shorter, more precise and the block of water takes shape in kind. Standing targets emerge from the block, but everything looks the same, they've all come from the same source, of course. But she turns her fingers this way and that and...colours appear, completely transparent. Red, yellow, blue on the targets.

And then she claps and there is a rush of cold air spreading outward as everything solidifies in a flash freeze.]

[ He'd applaud the show of magic but, you know, he's got guns in each hand (he did take the one she handed him back) so maybe not. ]

That's pretty impressive! Those'll be perfect.

It is not much, but thank you. Please give them a test.

[a shot, if you will.]

[ He shifts his posture before lifting one of the guns up towards the target. His breathing is slow and steady as he aims carefully, taking his time. In, out. In, out. In, out. In--

On the next exhale, he fires the gun. A blast of orbal energy comes charging out, bright and clear and very easy to follow as it heads unerringly to the dead center of the target he'd aimed at. ]

Hah! There you go.

[ He's pretty pleased with himself. ]

[she watches him carefully as he lands his shot.]

Very well done. What sort of ammunition is that...it feels familiar?

It's an orbal gun. I had to pay extra for 'em in the shop, but they're what I'm used to.

[until u remember the thing]

Hmm, yes, those extra charges are certainly something.

[her tone is a little annoyed for a moment.]

That said, it seems they are strong enough for use. It is easily repaired, anyway.

[ Until he remembers the thing, that's true. ]

Haha, well it's more convenient anyway-- unlimited ammo! I'm pretty sure gunpowder guns pack more of a punch, though.

[ He carefully holds the gun back towards her. ]

Wanna give it a try?

Yes, sir.

[She holds her hand back out for it.]

[ That's still pretty hot. ]

Alright now when you're aiming, you're gonna want to aim with your dominant eye... assuming you have one, you might be different. You're gonna want to align your sights-- [ He uses free hand to indicate what he's talking about. ] --so that the top of the front sight aligns with the top of the rear sight. Now, when you're aiming for your target, there's three things you're gonna need to keep track of-- your front sight, your rear sight, and your target. The further your target is, the more important it is to keep your focus on your front sight.

When you feel ready, press the trigger to the rear and don't try to anticipate when the gun will fire. Just go with it.

[crow pls

it's hard to tell what her eyes are doing because, blindfolded.

But she absorbs his instructions like a sponge.

She doesn't need to breathe, but it's a habit she's kept up with and she remembers-- on the exhale.

She fires, and it isn't far from the centre. She does not look very surprised, either way.]

[ Honestly, he just assumes she can see through the fucking blindfold somehow. He hasn't seen any proof against that theory. ]

Heh! You know, somehow I'm not surprised you're that good right away.

It needs work.

[She frowns ever so slightly. Just slightly, at her performance. It's still a miss to her, but this is something new. She knows that. There is a lot of hard, nose to the grindstone work to genius and she has done her time.

It's just odd to see her not hit closer on the target no matter what it is. She has not done that in a while.

What is not strange is that there appears to be a lot of overlap in techniques, but she needs to adjust her thinking; trust the sights, not compensate for them.

He never told her how to breathe, but she fires again on her exhale, and it's still close--excellent for someone who's never fired a gun before--but she's still not quite there.]

Obviously. No one's perfect on their first try, no matter how gifted you might be.

[ He watches her second shot. ]

And anyone who says they'll never miss, even when they get really good, is lying to you. And themselves.

Agreed, sir.

[~~Hawkeye can't miss~~

It is a little odd to aim directly for the target. The archer's paradox is that to hit the target, you cannot be aiming directly for it. It's odd and strange and different, and she expects these things. What she is doing is using a gun, not extending a part of herself.

But she is driven, competitive, enjoys learning new things, and does not like doing things by halves, so she is going to keep practising if he does not make her stop.]

[ He's going to let her get about three more shots out, curious to see if she can hit the target in five tries. ]

[all her shots are very close to the bull's eye and actually very close to one another. She has a very good sense of control, but she still does not hit it.]

[ He holds his hand out to get his gun back. ]

I get the impression you've got some kind of experience with aiming for a target.

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