training ♔ thursday morning

[nepotism]

WHO || Fredrick Jr., Dovan Ironsides, Luthir Reedhym, entirely open
WHAT || Weapons training
WHERE || Knights HQ, Training Room / Armory / Firing Range / Gym, Dragnon's Hide wing, 2nd floor
WHEN || Thursday, Feb. 16th, from 10am onwards
HOW || Actionspam

Just like Fred said, at the top of the main staircase is the entrance to an incredibly spacious room, that has gym and weight training equipment on the wall near the door, and then lots of old school training dummies and more at the far end. A glass door enters into a firing range, and another pair of large doors on the farthest wall lead to the armory.

The room's full of the clanging of metal, as Dovan and Luthir fight, sword to axe, across the room, and Fred gathers everyone up on the gym side to explain things.

Comments

[militarized]

Good to meet you. I'm Ethan. [ He reaches out to offer her a hand to shake. ] I take it you're as new here as I am.

[witchwoman]

[She takes his hand and shakes it lightly. At least that's one custom that isn't too strange to her.]

Yes, though some arrived a week before the rest of us? I'm not sure which group you were a part of. At this point, it seems almost silly to distinguish between the two.

[militarized]

The only advantage the first group's got is a little more time to get used to the castle's layout. [ He says it in a way that confirms there's no point in differentiating. ] All right, this is a handgun. Small, easy to use, not too heavy. You'll see some bigger ones that you can't operate without a lot more effort and training, but these are pretty straightforward. [ He pulls out the main frame of the gun, then holds up the magazine. ] This is your ammunition. Think of it like arrows. Difference is, the gun loads and releases them for you, and all you have to do. [ He puts his finger on the trigger to indicate it, jiggling it some. ] Is aim, and squeeze this.

[witchwoman]

[She's a very attentive student, shutting up the moment he starts to talk about the actual weapon. Once he's finished, she looks at him, curious.]

That's all there is? Somehow I imagined this magic would be more difficult to understand.

[militarized]

There's more to it, but that's your basics. That's the beauty of technology, Myrilandel. Much simpler and more reliable than magic. [ He gives a smile, for once his bias against all things magic does not come out all negative-like. ] You load your magazine -- that's this thing -- in here. [ He gestures to indicate sliding the magazine in the base of the gun handle. Then he hands them both over separately. ] Try it. And don't worry about putting it in backwards, it'll only fit the right direction.

[witchwoman]

Oh, I don't know about all that. [She smiles as she watches him show her the next thing. Tentatively, she takes the parts from her and fits them into each other. Int Check 15 for comprehension As the magazine clicks into place, a spark lights up her eyes.]

[militarized]

There you go. [ He gives a grin. ] Not so complicated once you break it down.

[witchwoman]

It helps to have a good teacher, I'll bet.

[militarized]

I don't know if you can call me that exactly. I'm just a guy who knows his way around a weapon.

[witchwoman]

You know far more than me and are willing to impart the knowledge freely. I cannot think of another way to describe a teacher. I only wish I could offer something of equal value in return.

[She's still got a hold of the gun, not looking so terrified or confused by it.]

But how is the weapon used?

[militarized]

[ He makes a gesture down-range toward the targets, then steps nearer to her. ] I'll show you. [ He move sto stand behind her, resting his hands on her elbows and nudge her to raise the gun to aim down-range. ] When we're in the field and you have my back with that thing, that'll be when you can pay me back. How's that sound?

[witchwoman]

[Myri glances at him out of the corner of her eye as he guides her towards the targets and stands behind her. As his hands move her arms at the elbow, she takes a moment to breathe and then lets her limbs relax into his guidance.]

Sounds like a deal fairly struck.

[militarized]

Keep your body loose. You tighten up too much, and you'll be feeling it for days after you fire. [ He moves his hands down her forearms to her hands, adjusting her grip on the gun so that one hand is holding the handle, pointer finger resting beside the trigger rather than on it (for safety), and her other hand is steadying the butt of the handle, doubling up her grip. ] Now, don't be surprised when you fire it, 'cause your weapon'll jerk some from the force. Recoil.

[witchwoman]

[As he speaks, she tries to force her muscles to relax and to a degree, it works. His hands guide hers into place. Myri's so focused on what they're doing that she doesn't notice how close he is, how close he has to be to show her how to do this properly.]

You mean to say this little lever here will cause something to happen? Well, I don't really see how-

[But as she's talking, her finger loops over the trigger and squeezes just enough to cause the weapon to go off. The sound and recoil are enough to cause her to lose her breath.]

[militarized]

[ It jerks back, but Ethan's hands are there to steady her in the face of the recoil. And, it's not too much for her to handle -- they wouldn't be standard issue if they had too much of a kick. He chuckles strongly, backing off some and letting her lower it. ] That's how. Don't worry about the mechanics of it; you wanna learn about that later, we can teach it later. You just gotta know how to use it.

[witchwoman]

[Finally, Myri lets out the breath that she didn't know she was holding. She just looks at the device for a moment, then casts a look at Ethan over her shoulder.]

I'm not certain that I know what just happened. There was a great deal of noise, but...

[She still hasn't put two and two together to know the force of the bullet that just flew from the barrel.]

[militarized]

The weapon fired. [ He takes the gun from her, then uses his free hand to gesture downrange to where there's a hole in the corner of the paper target. ] See that hole there? That's where your "arrow" hit.

[witchwoman]

[Yes, that's a comparison that she can understand.]

The loudest arrow I've ever seen. [She muses to herself] I'm not sure if I'm meant for such a weapon. Thank you for showing me, though.

[militarized]

Takes some getting used to, that's for sure. [ He leans against the counter, giving her a nod. ] But, I think if you worked with it some more, you might just surprise yourself.

[witchwoman]

Should I try again? On my own? [She's a bit more eager than she thought she'd be.]

[militarized]

[ A beat, then a smirk quirks across his face and he gives a nod. ] Go ahead. I'll be right here if you need help, or if anything goes wrong.

[witchwoman]

[With a pitiful Intelligence check for comprehension of 8 and a Dexterity check for aim of 7, Myri struggles to put all the pieces of her lesson together and ends up missing the target completely.

She turns back to Ethan with a small frown.] I suppose it takes some practice.

[militarized]

And plenty of it. [ He gives a warm smile. ] Give it time.

[witchwoman]

[She smiles back]

Perhaps later. Thank you, though. It's just... my hands... they're all tingly.