Shooting Range [Monday afternoon]

[thegirl-onfire.livejournal.com]

Katniss made her way to the shooting range on Monday afternoon, her bow and a quiver full of arrows slung over her shoulder. After Friday's Marksmanship class and her frustration with the rifle, the idea of learning to shoot alternate weapons was all the more appealing.

So she warmed up as she waited for Wesley, setting up targets and shooting them in the head (actually, precisely where their left eye would be, if they were real) neatly. It was excellent stress relief, particularly after the weekend.

Though, when she thought about Rue, her aim faltered just a bit, so she quickly banished any thoughts of her small, lost friend.

[she's waiting for Wes, but it's an open range! :D]

Comments

[wesleynotponcy.livejournal.com]

Wesley was usually in the mood to shoot some stuff, and always in the mood to show off his skills, so it was with a spring in his step that he made his way to the shooting range. When he had been packing for Fandom earlier in the summer, he might have gone a bit overboard with the weapons, so he carried with him a bag of a few different types of guns, thinking it couldn't hurt to introduce Katniss to different styles.

He walked in just in time to see an arrow whizz across the room and hit a target. "Impressive," he said, setting down the bag. "Hello."

[thegirl-onfire.livejournal.com]

Katniss lowered her bow, smiling a little at his entrance. "Hello." The bag, however, got a raised eyebrow. "You came prepared, I see."

[wesleynotponcy.livejournal.com]

"I thought it couldn't hurt," Wesley replied, though he blushed a little at being typically overprepared. "And it could be helpful to have you try different things and see what you get a feel for. I knew a boy at the Watchers' Academy who was quite a skilled marksman with most types of guns, with the single exception of the shotgun. For whatever reason he was left with that as his only weapon against a rather large demon on a hunting trip, and it was quite a disas -"

Realizing abruptly that this might not be very encouraging, he stopped. Yeah, not the best way to teach a class, Wes.

[thegirl-onfire.livejournal.com]

And that just sounded all too much like so many tributes she'd seen thrust into the arena with no weapons training whatsoever, or trapped with a weapon they couldn't use. Honestly, it was like her first few days in the arena, before she was able to take the bow from Glimmer.

"I'd like to learn my way around as many different things as possible," she said, nodding simply. "You're not going to be the last person I have to teach to shoot. Diverse weapons are probably the best idea to get the broadest experience, right?"

[wesleynotponcy.livejournal.com]

"Precisely," said Wesley, still blushing from that whole faux pas. "So shall we start with your portion of the lesson or mine?"

[thegirl-onfire.livejournal.com]

"By all means," Katniss said, crossing over to interestedly look at the guns he'd brought. "You can teach me first. I'm curious."

[wesleynotponcy.livejournal.com]

Wesley crouched down and emptied out the contents of the bag. He removed a pair of handguns, a pair of shotguns and a pair of rifles, setting each like pair side by side on the flattened bag. "Handguns, shotguns and rifles," he said, pointing to each in turn. "I favor handguns, myself - their small size and portability are very convenient in close situations; shotguns are preferable for for power and impact, as they fire shells of pellets in quick succession, and rifles are the most precise for purposes of hunting and one-shot situations."

[Yeah, I asked a midwest-y friend of mine about guns and got all that in a 15-minute tutorial.]

[thegirl-onfire.livejournal.com]

Katniss moved in closer to see the guns as he described each one, reaching out to touch the rifle. "This is what I'd probably use most of the time," she admitted, "since I primarily use my bow to hunt. But those handguns are impressive. You could hide it on you, if you wanted."

[oh, midwesterners! so wise about the ways of firearms. :D]

[wesleynotponcy.livejournal.com]

"I deducted as much," he said, and picked up the two rifles, handing her one and holding the other. "Now, I imagine this is quite different from your bow. You hold the gun like this," he said, demonstrating, "with the butt up against your shoulder and one hand on the trigger and the other on the barrel. When you're first learning, it's also a good idea to keep steady footing, such as combat stance or any variation in which your feet are solidly planted down with your weight distributed to each foot evenly. Try not to lean overtly forwards, which would be your first instinct - there will be something like a tremor just after you fire, and leaning forward could cause you to fall down."

Wow. He sounded like a teacher. Good thing, 'cause this was the one thing he could teach really well. "You try," he instructed. "Just standing, that is. Don't actually shoot yet."

I made two attempts at this. Midwestern friend told me my first one was way wrong, so she made me redo it. This may actually be correct.

[thegirl-onfire.livejournal.com]

Katniss mimicked his stance, carefully positioning her fingers where instructed. The butt of the gun pressed into her shoulder, and she cradled the barrel in her hand. As she started to lean forward, she snapped to a straighter posture as soon as she caught herself. "It's a little awkward," she commented with a small smile, tightening her hands a bit. "But I'll live."

[wesleynotponcy.livejournal.com]

Wesley walked in a circle, evaluating her posture. "Very good," he said, impressed. The first time he'd picked up a rifle had been a disaster, but Katniss seemed to have a firm handle on how it worked.

"Now, brace yourself for what is known as the kickback. It's more of an issue with shotguns, but all guns have it to some degree. When you fire, there will be a slight tremor that can hurt your shoulder, but it's important to get used to it in the event that you ever need to use a gun in an emergency situation. It will be quite painful, but better to experience it in a training session than in a battle scenario."

He paused, surveying her face to make sure she was keeping up.

[thegirl-onfire.livejournal.com]

She nodded, digesting that. "My shoulder's taken worse," she assured him. "Archery's not exactly easy on the shoulder muscles, either. I'll try not to fall over or anything."

[wesleynotponcy.livejournal.com]

Wes cracked a smile at that. "I sincerely hope so," he said with a laugh. "All right. The last thing you should be prepared for is the noise - rifles are notoriously loud, and though tools exist to suppress the sound, I don't have any at my immediate disposal just now, so we'll simply have to brace ourselves."

Thinking it was enough chatting and not enough demonstrating, he did a mental survey of all the topics he'd addressed thus far. Yep, sounded pretty good.

"So I suppose you'd like to see a demonstration, then?" Well, what he supposed was that she'd probably like to try on her own, but that would have to be prefaced with a demonstration anyway. Not that he thought she'd shoot down the building or its other occupants or anything like that. Just as a precaution.

[sorella-vecchia.livejournal.com]

Since Triela was at the range nearly every day, anyone who knew her wouldn't be surprised to find her there. But she usually had the space to herself, and today was the second one in a row that someone else had beaten her to it.

Huh.

"Hey," she waved casually from the doorway. It was usually a good idea to wait until you were acknowledged before walking into a room with someone who was armed, after all.

[thegirl-onfire.livejournal.com]

Katniss had kept an ear trained to the door, so after she let her loaded arrow fly -- once again nailing the target exactly where she intended -- she turned to offer a little wave, as well. "Hello."

[sorella-vecchia.livejournal.com]

Once she knew she'd been noticed, Triela nodded and unslung the case over her shoulder. "I don't think we've met," she said casually as she moved to find an open lane.

[thegirl-onfire.livejournal.com]

Katniss nodded back, moving to retrieve her arrows. "Katniss," she offered, thinking it probably polite to offer a name. She eyed the case with some interest, and asked, "Do you shoot guns? Or something else?"

[sorella-vecchia.livejournal.com]

"Triela. And mostly, yes." She eyed the bow. "What about you?" Katniss held the bow like it was more than just a backup weapon. Not many people went for guns and bows in her experience, either. It would be interesting to meet one of the exceptions.

[thegirl-onfire.livejournal.com]

"I'm learning my way around guns," she admitted. "But I'm an archer, primarily. Don't have too many guns at home, and I don't really care for them."

[sorella-vecchia.livejournal.com]

"Oh?" Triela asked curiously as she set her case down and opened it to reveal an old-looking pump shotgun. Which was very clearly meticulously kept.

"Any particular reason?"

[thegirl-onfire.livejournal.com]

"They're loud, for one," she said, with a little smile. "No offense intended, by the way."

[sorella-vecchia.livejournal.com]

Triela laughed. "None taken. And they're a lot quieter with a suppressor attached."

"Besides, sometimes loud is the point."

[thegirl-onfire.livejournal.com]

"Not with me," she said, shaking her head. "I tend to work best in silence. You'll scare everything off with a loud noise like a gunshot, if you're hunting."

[sorella-vecchia.livejournal.com]

"Depends on what you're hunting," Triela countered.

"Though I guess if it's anything but human, yeah."

It was probably pretty obvious what Triela spent most of her time shooting at.

She slid a few shells into the shotgun and pulled it to her shoulder, then paused and lowered it before looking over at Katniss. "Is the bow hard to pick up?"

Never knew when it might be useful, after all.

[thegirl-onfire.livejournal.com]

"Yes," Katniss said, honestly. "I've been shooting since I was very small, and it still took me awhile on my own to become any good at it. But if you're looking to learn, I recommend it." She gave her a fairly humorless little smile, and added, "It's useful, whether you're hunting animals or -- whatever else. Almost silent. Quick, too."