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Post by Captain Ameijin! on Dec 17, 2018 14:09:11 GMT -6
Deep breaths in and out were practiced with careful timing as Myra waited for the momentary pause where she would squeeze the trigger. The rifle recoiled with her shot, finger slowly releasing the trigger as her scope returned to its target. She peered towards the paper target tacked onto a large mound of compacted dirt– a clean shot, but no bullseye. The mark left by her bullet strayed to the right.
“Tch… really thought I had that one. Any expert tips from the resident sniper?"
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Post by fen on Dec 17, 2018 19:18:06 GMT -6
To her left, with his rifle resting on his arm, was none other than said 'resident sniper'. Though he was clearly aiming down his scope, the way he stood so perfectly still was not entirely unlike a house cat you might catch creeping towards you, only to freeze in place once you spotted it. Except, well, this house cat had 7.62 mm ready to bare down. As if on cue, he fired his shot, quickly chambering in his second- only to be interrupted by Myra's question. The sniper's focus, however, didn't waver.
"First, stop missing. Let's try that."
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Post by Captain Ameijin! on Dec 17, 2018 21:44:41 GMT -6
“Have you ever considered becoming an instructor?”
She carefully watched Cain take his second shot, resting her cheek against her fist. The only parts of him that ever seemed to move were his finger as it pressed against the trigger and his hair as the wind blew past it. Myra turned back towards her own target in an attempt to mimic his unsettling stillness. She relaxed her muscles as best as she could before she finally pulled the trigger, her arms jerking backwards with the recoil of the shot and the bullet finding its place well above the target.
“Ouch!” Myra massaged her sore arm muscles, glancing towards Cain to see if he noticed her mistake. A lack of reaction from his end was, in a way, reassuring.
Again she looked down her sights, only this time she focused on tensing up every muscle in her body at once. It was almost painful to maintain, yet she felt still and focused as she fired her weapon. Though she was able to keep the recoil in check this time, her shot was still off the mark. Worse yet she felt like her blood vessels were moments away from exploding. Myra clicked her tongue again in exasperation.
“Tell me this much, at least… how do you stop moving like that? Might have thought you’d met Medusa’s gaze if I hadn’t known better.”
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Post by fen on Dec 18, 2018 0:52:13 GMT -6
After a few minutes of concentration, as well as the occasional shot, the sniper finally put his gun down. It wasn't in his nature to mentor someone else, especially in shooting. Generally, he was used to working with people who knew what they were doing, or at the very least people who were good shots. Then again, with how much of a chimera their squad was, he should have expected something like this. A mixture of talents that made each of them stand out just that much more.
"It's mainly experience, learning how to fight the recoil with every shot until you don't have to fight anymore."
It was... Cryptic, but then again, what could she expect?
"Once you take enough shots, you learn how to do it. Best tip I can add to that is to not fight the recoil, or the twitching."
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Post by Captain Ameijin! on Dec 18, 2018 8:47:35 GMT -6
“So you’re saying I should go with the grain, not against it? Simple enough.” It was a far cry from the guidance Myra had hoped for, but was about what she had expected. Practice, practice, practice. That was a phrase (or perhaps a mantra) that she’d heard too many times before. Bullet after bullet escaped from her rifle’s muzzle as she made a mental checklist of the basics, from adjusting her posture to calculating the effects of wind. Each shot rang out into the air to join the chorus of gunfire that resounded across the shooting range. That chorus slowly dwindled into a steady drumbeat that alternated between her own shots and Cain’s. Slowly her bullets drifted towards the bullseye– if only just a hair. Her arms ached, worse now than ever. That told her that she was still fighting against the recoil. Myra told herself that there was still plenty of time before their shore leave was up, which meant there was still plenty of time to train. Eventually she ran through her supply of practice rounds entirely. The fading sunlight from above told her that it was about time to retire to the Menaulion for the evening and pick up where she left off tomorrow. Dissatisfied, she reluctantly set the safety on her rifle on and slung it across her shoulder. Cain was entirely unperturbed by the steady march of time, and Myra suspected he could keep going like this for several hours, perhaps even days longer. “If it’s all about experience, you must have plenty of it, right? Join your secondary school's Archery Club or something?"
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Post by fen on Dec 18, 2018 18:51:21 GMT -6
He had gone in between shooting and not, taking steady shots which always seemed to find their mark. Some a bullseye, some not, but each were calculated. His stance seemed to never shift, minus the occasional break for the sharpshooter to reload. Occasionally, he'd look over to see how Myra was doing, but he never seemed pleased or satisfied by her handiwork. Perhaps the best compliment he could give was a simple shrug, a poorly translated 'not bad' in Cainspeak.
...well, probably closer to 'could be better'.
"Archery is an entirely different discipline. You want to emphasize control there, you're the source of power in that dynamic. Not with this, the gun's all the power here."
Despite the setting sun, he locked the next round in his chamber, eye set to his scope. He had been practicing with iron sights for the entire day, and despite his disadvantage he had found himself getting better at striking the farther targets.
"Went hunting with my parents as a kid. As it happens you learn a lot from shooting something that can run, or fight back."
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Post by Captain Ameijin! on Dec 18, 2018 22:39:10 GMT -6
“Hunting… rich boy’s sport if there ever was one,” Myra teased as she nonchalantly rested her shoulder against a nearby barricade. It was therapeutic watching him line up shot after shot, and she couldn’t help but wonder what was rattling around in his head. Where did his thoughts wander as he pulled the trigger for the two-hundredth time in a row?
She pulled out an e-cigarette from a pouch in her jacket and attached a tank filled with pineapple-flavored juice. It was a flavor she hadn’t yet had the opportunity to experience, the haul of a recent trip into a nearby vape lounge. Her lips pressed against the e-cig as a deep inhale filled her lungs with its synthetic concoction. A cloud of sweet-smelling white smoke soon escaped from pursed lips.
“Random question, but like… you ever taken down a mountain lion before? Or any other big cat for that matter."
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Post by fen on Dec 18, 2018 22:52:10 GMT -6
The look on his face said that he was definitely a little confused by her question, or maybe it wasn't confusion, but annoyance? Either way, he only barely registered her question before he fired off a few more shots, going for even further range.
"We didn't exactly hunt for sport. Parents wanted to teach us how to handle ourselves, we learned how to skin and prepare game meat and all that."
A particularly nice shot earned a whistle from the sharpshooter, and a wry grin as he sat back, bringing his rifle up to allow him to peer at it. It was quite a ways off, and perhaps more importantly, there was no scope involved. Accounting for wind and light... Well, the sniper certainly looked proud of himself, didn't he? "...anyways, no point in hunting big cats. Not if you're a soldier, at least."
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Post by Captain Ameijin! on Dec 19, 2018 0:04:47 GMT -6
“Sounds like you were well-prepared for being stuck on a deserted island with nothing but a knife, the clothes on your back, and a high-powered hunting rifle.”
The look of irritation he cast her way failed to keep the smile on her face from growing wider. Myra took another sip from her vape pen as Cain lined up another shot. The target was too far away for her to see if his bullet even met its mark or not, but the self-satisfied expression on his face told her what she needed to know. She awarded him with a modest round of applause.
“Not if you’re a soldier?” Myra’s face scrunched up slightly as she tried to make heads or tails of his answer. “...why exactly would a soldier avoid picking a fight with a mountain lion?”
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Post by fen on Dec 19, 2018 18:54:44 GMT -6
"Har har."
After what seemed to be ages, the sniper appeared to be finally putting down his gun, gently resting it against a stand as he gave Myra the pointed look he had been forgetting to give. "I didn't mean if you were being attacked, because let's be honest, not a whole lot of big cats left on this planet..." He sat back against a propped rock. The makeshift shooting range they had at Camp Delta was just that: makeshift. Though they had managed to clear some rocks and debris away.
"So... At least to me, if you're out looking to shoot a mountain lion, it's gotta be on purpose. Trophy hunting, right? People do it for the sport, but the way I see it, there isn't much difference between a mountain lion and a guy with a gun."
He paused, taking out a cigarette and quickly lighting it. After a brief puff, he shook his head.
"...okay, well, the difference is one can shoot you, but what I'm trying to get at is the whole reason people do it. Because of the 'thrill of the hunt' or whatever. That feeling that the thing you're trying to kill can kill you back."
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Post by Captain Ameijin! on Dec 19, 2018 19:58:38 GMT -6
“Do you get that feeling too, sitting atop the sniper’s perch from a mile or more away?”
From any other person that might have seemed like an insult. Myra’s hushed question gave off an entirely different impression, as if seeking validation from Cain. She averted her gaze, taking a lengthy breath from her e-cigarette to subdue an emotion she wasn’t entirely comfortable with. Silence followed as she struggled to put her thoughts into words.
“Is it wrong for someone to... enjoy it?”
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Post by fen on Dec 20, 2018 3:06:45 GMT -6
"No."
It was a pointed and blunt answer, as if it was more of a reflex than something he had put thought into. He leaned back against his rock, arms crossed ever so slightly as he stared her down. There was quite some time before he said something, but when he finally spoke up there was a heavy sigh leaving his lips. He rubbed his temple with one hand, the other cradling his smoke. At this point, there was little light from the setting sun.
"That's a... Don't ask, don't tell, kind of thing."
There was a pause.
"I'm not going to pretend there isn't some sort of kick at the start, but you get numb to it. I'm not trying to sound like a machine, but you learn to separate the human from the target."
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Post by Captain Ameijin! on Dec 20, 2018 8:41:45 GMT -6
“Seems easy to do… if you’ve never met the ‘target’ before.”
Her hands reached for her e-cigarette to take one final sip, long and drawn out. The vapor billowed from her mouth like the engine of a steamboat on an old cartoon. She shoved her hands into her jacket pockets, guarded in her posture as she lazily kicked herself off the sandbags she’d been resting against.
“Didn’t mean to turn the mood sour,” Myra admitted with a loose smile. “Figure you want to get back aboard the Menaulion before it goes totally dark out here, right? Can hardly remember if I even had lunch today and it’s already time for supper.”
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Post by fen on Dec 20, 2018 21:35:55 GMT -6
"Right."
It wasn't too long before he got up too, snuffing out his light against a rock before lifting his rifle and slinging it over his shoulder. The ammo crates could get moved another day, and it wasn't like they had to pack up anytime soon. The wind picked up, bringing them a chilly breeze. It hardly got a rise out of Cain, who was already in packing up mode. Like any good soldier however, he was done in a few seconds. "Yeah, may as well head back." There was a parked jeep nearby, enough to get them to the dock the Menaulion was currently docked at.
As the two approached the vehicle, Cain tossed his firearm and case to the back, before taking the passenger seat, giving her a brief looking that only said 'you drive'.
It wasn't a long drive back, by any means, but the encroaching darkness seemed to inspire more honesty than the two were accustomed to, and amidst the drone of the local radio, Cain confided,
"About what you said... You'll have to tell me what it's like, if you ever get to that point."
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