trans_9 | Weapon Lesson [Closed and Backdated to before the Soulcatcher Plot]

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Weapon Lesson [Closed and Backdated to before the Soulcatcher Plot]

Alanna arrived at the Sensoriums promptly at the time that she'd agreed to meet Elisa, rather excited by the prospect of what was to come. Her friend had agreed to give her a lesson in how to operate the odd weapon that she wielded and while the knight very much doubted that she'd be turning in her sword any time soon, it would be good to have another possible option available just in case. After all, it was impossible to plan for every eventuality and having more options would always be better than having less. And, of course, if Elisa was interested then Alanna would be happy to return the favor. She might not have known much about the strange weapon from Elisa's world, but she had been trained in a number of others ranging from close combat weapons like the sword that she currently carried to long distance ones like bows.

She surveyed the area, searching for the other woman, but she failed to spot any sign of her. Although a bit disappointed, the Lioness quickly shrugged it off and focused her mind on finding something to do while she waited for her friend to arrive. More than likely she was just early anyway. She'd had far too much time on her hands recently and after having so many years of being consistently busy, it was disconcerting to have so much free time.

Deciding to put this opportunity with a large empty room to good use, she summoned up an image of the training grounds that she'd first learned to fight on, not so much because she needed it for what she planned but rather because the familiar sight gave her some measure of comfort and allowed her to relax better. Pulling her sword out, she ran through the exercises that she knew so well. Her movements appeared smooth and natural as though she'd been born with a sword in her hand, although that couldn't have been farther from the truth. Long hours of practice with a sword far heavier than the one she currently carried followed by the intensive instruction offered by Duke Gareth had helped her learn the weapon in a way that she'd doubted possible when she first began her training.

She continued on, swapping the sword from one hand to the other whenever necessary to assure proper conditioning, although she also tried to keep a careful eye on the surrounding area for Elisa's arrival.

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After careful consideration, Elisa had decided that she'd start Alanna with a simulated gun before moving on to the real thing. She had no doubt that the other woman was skilled at handling the weapons of her own time, but a gun was very different to a sword or a shield. It was dangerous in a way that she would be entirely unfamiliar with. She didn't want anyone - herself or Alanna or someone who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time - to get hurt.

Although she wasn't late, the sensoriums were already in use when Elisa reached them. If she hadn't made arrangements with Alanna, she'd probably have walked away. She didn't want to disturb anyone. Especially if they were using the sensoriums to deal with home sickness.

When she realised who the user was, she shuffled her feet conspicuously to make her presence known, but kept back while Alanna worked. She was more than just skilled with her traditional weapons, then. She was a natural.

Alanna halted her sword mid-swing as she heard the noises behind her and she quickly looked around as she searched for the source of it. At seeing Elisa, a smile crossed her face and she slipped her weapon back into the hilt by her side.

"Elisa, I'm glad to see you. Thank you for coming." The Lioness stepped forward eagerly. "Have you been keeping well?"

"Very well, thanks," she answered honestly. The ship was strange - and it was a long way from New York - but she was settling in. "I think I've almost got used to this place."

She stepped fully into the sensorium, giving Alanna a warm smile of greeting.

"What about you?"

"As well as could probably be expected," Alanna responded honestly, a frown marring her face for a moment as she considered the question. "This place is..." Not Tortall. In fact, it was nothing at all like her homeland. Everything was so new... so unusual. It was still disorienting at times, but she was adapting as best she could. At least she no longer started when she woke up in the strange quarters that she now called home, although she was still lonelier than she cared to admit. She hadn't seen as much of her brother as she'd hoped when they'd first been reunited, something that she was determined to remedy as soon as possible, and it was so unsettling to not have the ability to contact her other loved ones. Alanna was used to traveling far from home and being away from her friends, but she had always had the option of going home to them once her mission was complete or contacting them in other methods. Here that was not an option. "It's just not what I'm used to, but I'm learning. I'm hoping that it'll only get easier from here."

Slipping her sword back into the hilt that hung by her side, the Lioness nodded and smiled at Elisa again, letting the room's illusion drop so that her companion could remake the room as she saw fit. "I'm ready to begin whenever you are, Elisa."

"It's not home," Elisa supplied. Although Alanna hadn't said as much, it wasn't difficult for the detective to interpret her feelings. After all, she shared them. Even the presence of Goliath and Bronx, and the makeshift home formed by Castle Wyvern, couldn't make up for the fact that they were a long way from New York. She missed the familiar streets and her comfortable apartment and the clock tower. Most of all, she missed the rest of the clan and her family and her colleagues at the NYPD.

With a nod, Elisa conjured up the image of a shooting range at any police training academy in the USA, as well as the appropriate equipment - from the weapons to the ear protectors - on a table next to them.

"I guess we'll start with the basics," she said, picking up the sort of small hand gun she favoured and showing Alanna how to hold it.

Alanna nodded, glad that Elisa understood. She should have known that the other woman would. "And it's not just like exploring either. I enjoy seeing and learning of new lands, but I always knew that I could go home if I needed." Even for the time period right after earning her shield in which she'd assumed that she wouldn't be wanted in the place that she thought of as home, she'd still known in the back of her mind that her friends would have welcomed her back in a heartbeat if she'd decided to return.

The image that Elisa called up was both interesting and completely unfamiliar, but given that everything was unfamiliar to her here, it didn't shock her.

Taking the gun into her hand as Elisa showed her, she held it up and observed it more closely. It was surprisingly heavy given its small size, but that wasn't an issue for Alanna who was more used to weapons like swords and axes. "How do I use it though?" she finally asked, eying the weapon with a certain amount of suspicion.

"It isn't the same when you don't get to choose the trip," remarked Elisa, thinking of her world tour. Avalon had sent her from place to place without consultation. This trip was even stranger. They didn't really know where they were, let alone when they'd get home.

"Carefully," she said, "The bullet comes out of the barrel ..." - which Elisa indicated as she spoke, along with the other relevant parts of the gun - "... when you pull the trigger. It takes a while to get the hang of aiming it, but I have a feeling you're going to be a fast learner. You've definitely got the coordination."

"That is definitely true," Alanna agreed immediately. She'd normally, although not always, at least been able to have some say in where she was going, even if she hadn't necessarily liked the destination. Alanna suspected that a part of what had made being brought here so hard was this feeling that she'd lost control over her own life. This feeling that she no longer had any say in it. It was an unwelcome feeling to say the least.

Alanna nodded, listening carefully. "So I point this barrel at the target and then pull the trigger when I'm prepared?" She smiled at the compliment and added, "Thank you. I hope to prove you correct."

“Exactly,” said Elisa, grinning at Alanna’s response to the compliment. “There are sights on the top of the hand gun to help you line up your shot.”

Once again, Elisa indicated the part of the gun in question as she spoke and demonstrated to Alanna how to use it.

“Don’t fire it yet. Just try and aim at the targets.”

The vaguely human shaped cardboard figures were set up on the far side of the range, just as they had been at the police academy.

Alanna nodded thoughtfully, lifting the gun to point it at the target and looking through the thing that Elisa had called a "sight". It was hard to really focus on the target through the small opening at first and she didn't totally understand the point of it. She'd never needed anything like it when shooting arrows. Wouldn't it be easier to do without it? The longer she tried though, the more she was able to adjust. It was still far from natural for her, but it no longer felt quite so... wrong.

"Where's the best place to aim with this weapon?" she asked thoughtfully, her hands steady as she managed to line up the gun reasonably well with the target's chest as she might with a bow and arrow. This definitely wasn't the same, but the actual aiming was close enough. Aim the barrel at the target as she might aim the tip of an arrow.

“That depends on what you’re trying to do,” Elisa answered honestly, watching Alanna carefully. As she’d suspected, the other woman was more than capable and adapted quickly. She didn’t need many corrections. “If you want to slow someone down, aim for the foot or the shins. If you need to take them out, aim for the chest or the head.”

"So, similar to how I might direct an arrow?" Alanna asked, seeking confirmation as she continued to aim the weapon at the target. "It feels rather strange in my hand. Is there a better way to hold it or is this simply a matter of getting used to the feel?" She suspected that it was the latter as that was usually true when learning just about any truly new weapon.

Elisa nodded. That was a good analogy and Alanna’s experience with bows and arrows – as well as her obvious proficiency when it came to weapons in general – put her in good stead when it came to using guns.

“You’ll get used to it,” she promised, “It does feel strange at first, but it’ll start to feel more natural with practice.”

Alanna tightened her fingers around the gun's grip, careful not to touch the trigger just yet. Not until Elisa gave the signal. The weapon still felt odd in her hand, but it was easier when she thought of it in those more familiar terms. It gave her something to compare the experience to at least.

She nodded gratefully to Elisa. The reassurances were nice and not something that was necessarily accustomed to, depending on the instructor. "Thank you. I've no doubt that you're right."

"Try aiming it at the target," Elisa suggested, gesturing at the crude cardboard figure at the far end of the range. They were vaguely human shaped and just like she remembered from her own lessons. That seemed like a long time ago now. Her old instructors wouldn't believe where she'd ended up and how she'd found herself applying her knowledge. "When you've had a few practices, I'll take the safety off and let you fire."

Edited 2012-01-16 21:31 (UTC)

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Weapon Lesson [Closed and Backdated to before the Soulcatcher Plot]

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