- IC Time: Fri Apr 07 12:53:03 2017 ***
- OOC Time: Fri Apr 07 12:53:03 2017 ***
John is having a calm day at the shop, sitting behind the counter with a giant milkshake. Apparently the man loves his ice cream. He is absentmindedly tinkering with the mechanism on a rifle and awaiting his appointment for the day: Max.
The enchanted mortal has been a good tenant of John. She comes and goes from the cabin but is always respectful of everything while she's there. She's been scarce over the past few days but made sure to make an appointment for those shooting lessons that were promised to her awhile ago. Right on time, perhaps even a minute or so early, Max shows up at the shop with an excited smile on her face. She's dressed casually as always, jacket, jeans, and boots, with her hair braided into pigtails to keep it out of her face. "Hey! I don't know about you but I'm looking forward to learning how to pewpew!" she says playfully, even making a shooting gesture with her hands.
John isn't the smiling sort, as is well known, but Max always lightens his mood. He sets the stuff he's working on down and picks up the milkshake, walking around the counter and looking her up and down appreciatively. "I will enjoy teaching you. I like doing it in general, but it is much more fun for a close friend." From his pocket he pulls out a light pistol, and holds it up. "I am going to start with a quiz: what is the most important thing to know about a gun?"
There's a warm smile that touches her lips at John's initial statement. Then Max curiously looks over toward the gun that the Lost holds up, a thoughtful expression at the question posed. She's quiet for a few moments before offering her first guess. "Never point at something you don't intend to shoot?" There's a small tilt of her head, a curious look as she wonders how close, or not, she got to answering correctly.
John says: "Close. The most important thing to know about a gun is whether it is loaded. Do not take anyone's word for it. Always check yourself. Accidental discharge is one of the largest causes of shooting injuries. Never forget that you have a lethal weapon in your hand, and act accordingly. When in doubt, always assume a weapon is loaded." He holds up the gun and demonstrates how to check the slide and the magazine to see if it is loaded. He turns around so you cannot see him, and reconfigures the gun to its normal state then hands it to you with the barrel pointed at the floor. "You try."
Max watches the Winter carefully as he shows her how to properly check the gun. There's a smirk when he turns away from her. Taking the offered gun, she studies it over for a few moments before slowly mimicking what she had just been demonstrated for her. The mortal is able to do it, slowly but surely, making sure the barrell is never pointed in her friend's direction. "How's that?" she asks with a grin when she's finished, lifting her head up to look at him.
"Well done. Now, just keep in mind that you shouldn't point the gun at anyone you are not intending to shoot, just like you said--that is lesson number two." He looks her over and says, "Come on, let us go into the shooting range and see what we can see."
Max enters from the door to the shop.
Max wanders into the shooting range with him, glancing around her with apparent curiosity and interest. She holds the gun carefully in her hands, keeping it pointed to the ground. Glancing at some of the signs, she chuckles gently before looking over at John. "Skeet shooting is when they throw like, a clay disc in the air and people shoot it, right? You plan on holding some sort of event like that soon?" she wonders.
"Yes, I am hoping to host that and a shooting league. You do not shoot skeet with pistols, though--usually, shotguns, which can be great fun in and of itself." He guides you to one of the lanes, but he stands in it first. "Now, let me give you a few demonstrations, first. Here are some ear protectors; in a range, and indoors, you want these on. Firearms protectors let you hear normal voices, but cancel out louder ones like gunshots." He puts the 'earmuffs' on your head and his. He has already set up a paper target on a hook above the range, and presses a button so it goes down to the end. "I will have you shooting closer than this first, but the principal is the same." Settling into a three-point stance with his legs slightly apart, he removes a pistol that is somewhat larger than your own. Extending his arms, the pistol pointing downrange with his finger laying lengthwise above the trigger guard rather than within it, he says: "Do not lock your elbows; it is a good way to get hurt if the recoil proves too much for you. Questions on the stance?"
When John slides the earmuffs onto her, Max holds herself still like a statue so that he doesn't accidentally brush up against her. As the Winter starts to demonstrate for her again, the mortal keeps her attention on him. Every part of him is watched and studied over carefully. His advice is listened to and she gives a small but understanding nod. Then she attempts to mimic him once more. The gun is pointed away, of course, as she postures her body into a somewhat proper stance. It's not exactly perfect but she does her best, good for a first attempt. "Is this right?" she wonders, knowing what she envisions in her mind and how she actually looks are two different things.
John puts his gun away and studies her. "Hold that pose," he says, and careful not to touch her actual flesh, kneels down and adjusts her feet by touching her boots to keep her feet the appropriate distance apart. "There we are." Taking the space next to her, he rises and looks downrange. "All right. Now--when firing, it is a natural instinct to hold your breath for new shooters. This tends to lead to exhaling at the moment of firing, which can disrupt your aim and cause a miss. Even static targets can be difficult to hit. Watch what I do carefully." He raises his gun into the similar stance and flicks the safety off, then takes aim, breathing slowly and exaggeratedly so she can see what he is doing. "As you pull the trigger, do so gently. There is a tendency to squeeze hard. They tell most men to think of the trigger as if you are squeezing a woman's breast. I do not know what your orientation is, so perhaps you have no such analogy; think of it like hugging a child or icing a cake or basting a bird for cooking." With that, he inhales, then exhales slowly and pulls the trigger.
-> >> John to Here << <-==============================================
Rolled 5 Successes for an exceptional success.
< 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 5 7 7 8 8 10 10 10 >
=====================-> >> Dexterity + Firearms.Pistol 9-Again << <-
The gunsmith hits the target center mass, managing the recoil with his forearm muscles. "Your gun will not pull up so much as it is a lighter caliber. You try."
-> >> Max to Here << <-===============================================
Rolled 0 Success
< 1 2 4 >
===========================-> >> Dexterity + Firearms No Flags << <-
There's an obvious wince when John fixes her posture by hand, silently cursing herself for not pulling away fast enough to not be touched. "Be... very careful for the next day," Max warns him, a bit of an apologetic look in her eyes. Then she looks back down the range, aiming toward the target in the distance. "Yeah, I've never touched anyone's breast before. I mean, I don't like touching people in a casual way and have never..." She just pauses there, lets her sentence trail and the subject dropped. This is gun time! Although she doesn't have experience with the offered analogy, she does seem to understand the point of it. Carefully she squeezes the trigger until the gun goes off. The bullet flies and completely misses the target. There's a faint chuckle. "Well, I guess no beginner's luck for me," she states with a playful tone.
John says, "I will be careful, Max. Yet I will also not touch your skin, or touch you again without your permission. So do not worry." He looks to see how she did it, then says, "You will be needing to practice. The biggest hurdle is the stance and the breathing and the squeeze. Also, do not close your eyes; I am unsure whether you did or not, but that sometimes happens as well."
-> >> Max to Here << <-===============================================
Rolled 3 Successes
< 3 5 5 6 8 9 10 >
=======================-> >> Dexterity + Firearms + 3 No Flags << <-
"Closing your eyes while shooting seems like a very dangerous thing to do. Do people actually do that?" Max wonders with a raise of her brow. Then she repositions herself so that she can attempt another shot. This round, she takes a bit longer to aim, making sure that it's actually on point. It takes her a few moments but the result speaks for itself. After squeezing the trigger this time, the bullet actually manages to hit the target! Near the chest though not quite on point. However, it's a victory for the mortal. "I did it! I'm a pro now," she says with a teasing tone.
"New shooters can be intimidated because they fear the sound of the gunfire, so yes, sometimes people do that." He watches her shoot as she aims, and says, "Well done! You are on your way to becoming a pro. Keep shooting; let us see if you can keep it up!"
-> >> Max to Here << <-===============================================
Rolled 2 Successes
< 2 4 6 8 8 >
=======================-> >> Dexterity + Firearms + 2 No Flags << <-
"I'm not scared of a loud noise. I'd only be intimidated if the gun was pointed at me again," Max replies, a faint frown tugging at the edges of her lips. Then she lightly shakes her head and turns her gaze toward the target again. Again she uses a few moments to aim but not as long this time around. However, it seems to pay off again once more as she marks the taget with the bullet. It's not as great as her last shot but still good enough had she been aiming at something or someone. "How often would you recommend I practice?" she wonders. There's a pause before she adds, "You still have to show me that cool trick of yours sometime."
John looks at her saying, "I can understand being intimidated by someone pointing a gun at you, but teaching you how to quick-draw and shoot will wait until after you manage to learn more about shooting. He says, "You seem to be getting better. I would say practice every day, but once every few days or a week will do. Consider it like exercise or diet." Then he considers for a moment and says, "Stand over there," and points to the sixth bay.
"I'm still healing a bit, so, maybe I'll practice every other day until I can start up with my usual activities," Max replies with a smile. Then she steps over toward the sixth bay as instructed, standing still once she reaches there. There's an intrigued expression that lingers in her bright blue eyes as she excitedly watches John.
GAME: John spends 1 Glamour
GAME: John spends 1 Willpower
-> >> John to Here << <-==============================================
Rolled 13 Successes for an exceptional success.
< 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 6 6 6 6 7 8 8 8 8 8 8 9 9 9 9 10 10 10 >
===============-> >> Dexterity + Firearms + 7 9-Again and Rote << <-
John says, "Note that you have shot two holes into the target ahead of me, and I have shot one." From the sixth bay, you can see the entire room beyond the bays (well, you could see it from the first bay, but this way in case he misses you don't get shot). John aims at an angle away from the target in front of him towards the far corner of the room beyond, downrange of the sixth bay firing position. He takes a breath and exhales, then fires. The bullet strikes the corner there, and ricochets up all the way back to the ceiling above the third bay firing position. It bounces off there and heads back beyond the target downrange from John, hits the floor there, ricochets up to the ceiling in *front* of the target that John is "aiming" at, and chips the ceiling. As the bullet falls to the ground, its energy spent, a piece of the ceiling chips off and strikes the paper target--leaving a crease down the paper where the head is, but not having enough force to actually puncture the paper.
"And that's how I can shoot someone with a bullet and just knock them unconscious."
Max tries to follow the speeding bullet as best as she can, her eyes widening as it zips this way and that. When the bit of ceiling falls onto the target, she blinks a few times in surprise. "Okay, it's one thing to hear about a cool trick. It's another to actually see it." The young woman chuckles as she looks over toward John with a wide smile on her lips. "That was amazing, by the way! Very impressive. It would take me a long time to get that good. How long have you been practicing anyways?" she wonders, giving him a curious look as she starts to make her way back over to him.
John thinks on this question then says, "Well, the first time I shot a pistol I was 12, with my father; now I am...about 43? So 30 years, give or take 5 for when I was not shooting?" He puts his gun away, and then says: "Do me a favor; do not spread around how skilled I actually am. I may need to surprise someone at some point and would rather not have them suspect anything." A slight smile, then, "I hope the lesson helped; feel free to come here and practice any time."
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