cawnviction | PSL - Target Practice w/ Yukio

Yukio's spent a lot of time preparing.

Time was proving that no longer being a vampire wasn't at all altering his obsession with making sure everything was done right the first time, but it meant that nobody was going to have to stop midway through. He's got plenty of protection gear, an assortment of guns, handcrafted for him and generic both, he's got a wide assortment of targets from a watermelon to soda pop cans to a few paper targets with the ubiquitous bullseyes on them...

And a small table of refreshments. This was probably going to get tiring sooner or later. Although the purpose was bloody and serious, he rather liked guns, and figured eventually Crow would too; they equalized just about ANYTHING out.

But until Crow arrives it's just a waiting game, mostly lounging in what looks suspiciously like a brightly colored kiddie pool. His skin dried out so fast these days.. But the rumble of the bike's engine draws him out of that comfortable reverie, to haul himself back out of the wet and shake off carefully, then raise a hand in return.

"Hey. I hope I have enough things that'll actually fit, I guess we'll find out."

Safety first.

Awww yeah, a kiddie pool! Maybe he'll take a turn in there later, even if getting out of it will mean he'll be a graceless whale flopping on dry land for a while.

Crow lets out a low whistle, gesturing towards the the targets, and the, well, everything. That's uh, quite a few more guns than he'd been expecting when he was riding out here. "You really went all out on this, huh?"

Yukio really feels it's important, doesn't he...? For Yukio, Crow will give this his all, despite his own personal misgivings over the entire thing. Not misgivings over Yukio's ability to teach, but misivings over being the one holding a gun and pointing it at something.

Still, Crow rolls his shoulders and puts his hands on his hips. "Alright, tell me what I gotta do." A grin. "You're the teacher here."

"If you're not going to do it right, there's no point in doing it." Very noticeably he is not going for the towels he did bring, he was going to dry out way too fast as it was and why help it along? "..Besides, I wasn't sure what would best suit you or even feel comfortable in your hands."

He could make some guesses, having webbed fingers of his own even if only temporarily, but it helped with selection. It still baffled him that a cop didn't know how to use a gun. Even one that ran highway patrol!

But it couldn't be helped. "First part is the boring stuff. Safety first. Grab a pair of glasses." He points - they're all safety glasses and all tinged yellow. "Never point a weapon at anything or anyone you don't want to shoot, even if you don't think it's loaded. Don't put your finger on the trigger until you're ready to pull it. Treat every gun as if it is loaded and ready to go off."

How to prevent accidentally shooting someone: go. "This isn't just something to prepare for in case I go crazy, by the way. Keep that in mind. This world isn't going to duel you with cards, and you may have to protect friends or family or yourself from say, a rampaging firebreathing gargoyle or worse at some point. A gun with the proper ammunition equalizes any fight. And if I do it right.." There's a brief smile - and his teeth are closer to a shark's these days than anything else, but it still seems friendly, a touch amused. "You'll be good enough to not have to shoot to kill."

"Let's see what fits your webs, these ones were pretty comfortable for me, we'll start with pistols and work up from there."

Spoken like a true perfectionist. Crow can't help a wry twist of his lips at the statement.

It still baffled him that a teacher knows how to use a gun. Granted, learning that this particular teacher did all sorts of things that he didn't think was part of the teacher job description should've really wiped away that surprise, but still. Crow was still having a hard time reconciling 'teacher' with 'also deals with demons.'

Crow follows Yukio's instructions while the man starts his explanation, slipping on a pair of the safety glasses. Except. Well. Safety glasses aren't exactly made for a man with a whale snout instead of a nose. Crow puts the pair on as best as he can, but he pokes at the corner when they threaten to slide off his face.

Crow swallows, uncomfortable. But also, a little hopeful, when Yukio says he could be good enough to not kill someone after firing. "Alright," Crow musters a smile, "Let's do this."

Crow takes one of the guns Yukio said fit his webs and weighs it in his hand, fingers curling around the handle. It feels awkward in his hand, but that's just probably because if his feelings around the thing. Yukio said not to point it at anything he doesn't want to shoot, so he kind of awkwardly holds it with his palm facing upwards, barrel pointing away from them.

"This one seems okay." Oops, that's his eyewear sliding again. He pushes it up onto his face with his free hand, and upon the protective eyewear failing to stay in position, impatiently takes it off his face. "What's up next?"

There are many things he's planned for, including this. Maybe that vampiric obsession had worthwhile side effects. He doesn't do anything right away though he is watching. He had no snoot to get in the way but it was hard to not remember Crow had to deal with one.

"Semi-automatic. One of the easier ones to handle, and it can manage quite a few special kinds of bullets here in Ryslig. Good. .. Here, let's do this."

Except now he's going to because live fire exercises require it. Once he pockets his own glasses and puts a pair of safety glasses on he goes hunting through a bag and comes up with what looks a bit more like goggles. A bit, anyway; there's more space between the lenses than usual, but the elastic backing is still there. "These should work better. I'd prefer yellow, it helps with accuracy, but we'll get a custom pair if we need it later."

And so Crow doesn't have to do it himself, Yukio reaches to put them on FOR him. It means being awfully close, but mers seemed to lack his usual twitchiness about close contact. "Pull the magazine out from the bottom, it'll come easy. Check inside for a bullet. There shouldn't be one. Then grab the top of the gun and pull it back, it'll go easily, check that chamber for a bullet too. Not really necessary when you're intending to do harm but when you're not, it's just proper manners."

And safety!

Crow turns the weapon in his hend, studying it closely, as if it were an electronic circuit board. He hadn't even been aware there could be different kinds of bullets. But it's Yukio's area of expertise, and he trusts in the other man's knowledge.

Placing the ill-fitting protective eyewear back where he'd picked it up, Crow gratefully lets Yukio put the goggle-like ones on him. "Thanks, Yukio." With only a little adjustment, they fit Crow's head much better. "The other ones were driving me crazy."

Ummm... okay. Let's see. Crow turns the gun, and with a bit of fumbling, works out how to pull the magazine from the gun's handle.

"Aha!" he says in triumph. For a moment, he forgets it's a gun, thinking of it as more like an interesting mechanical problem to take apart. Putting down the magazine, Crow follows Yukio's instructions, checking for a bullet, and pulling the top of the gun back.

"Don't see anything." He tilts his head. "Thought we're gonna be shooting bullets, not taking them out."

There's something very, very suspiciously like a smile on Yukio's face at that. "Would you put someone on a motorcycle and let them try to drive without teaching them where the ignition, brakes, and gas are?"

It's all part of the process!

Besides, knowing how to be safe with it meant there would be the possibility of fewer accidents. Weapons were to be handled carefully, and an accident .. could shatter a person's confidence. If he wanted Crow to use it, he needed him confident in his skills, not constantly worried he might do something wrong.

"Safety protocols. This is the sort of thing you always do when practicing, and there'll be a lot of practicing. It seems silly now but it'll become second nature. You don't want to think it's empty and prepare for a bit of target practice only to find out there's still a bullet and put a hole in the side of your house."

Which he's done. "Besides, then you can learn how to handle a gun right now without fearing an accident. It's a good time to get comfortable with the weight of them, how they feel, if you can work the trigger without any problems from your webs and so on." Yukio picks up one of the revolvers and with practiced ease removes the bullets and sets them aside. Those ones have an odd sheen to them - maybe they're one of the special ones he'd talked about. "Later on is the fun part, taking them apart and cleaning them, then you can see how they all work inside."

He actually sounds like he expects it to be the fun part, and maybe given Crow's mechanical leanings it would be.

Crow thinks about that for a long moment. Yeah, sure, he learnt to ride a bike without any instruction, which meant things like safety procedures kind of fell to the wayside. Now that he thinks about it, yeah, if he was teaching someone how to ride, he'd definitely teach them what to do and what not to do, so they don't make the same mistakes he did starting out.

Crow lets out a huff of laughter. "Got me all figured out, huh?"

It's true, thinking about how all the component parts of a gun and taking it apart is far more appealing than learning how to shoot someone. He might not be a complete nerd like his brother, but he does like to take things apart.

Refocusing on the task at hand, Crow nods and says, "Alright, so if I'm not gonna be using the gun, I gotta take out the bullets? Doesn't it take time to load them back in when I need it?"

"Once you have standard range safety down, carrying in public rules and safety follows." He raises one finger. "Which won't be that long, you're a quick learner. But by the time it becomes likely that you'll carry one and possibly have to use it, you'll be carrying a loaded weapon. Range safety is a bit ironically far more stringent."

Which mostly has to do with the sheer number of people with weapons milling about at any given time. "If you wanted to keep a gun at your side at home, then you'd also keep it loaded but by then you'll also know how to handle it. Right now you've had a gun in your hand for like five minutes."

Shooting at a range was far less uncomfortable than the idea of shooting a person. Which was why training was important. If he did it right, it would be nearly reflexive for Crow to draw a weapon and defend himself or his friends if attacked, no hesitations.. but it had taken Yukio years to get there. How long would it take someone who DIDN'T want to learn?

"Alright, so now is proper holding a gun. See how when I have mine-" And he's NOT pointing it at anything but air, though he turns it so finger positions can be seen; webbing gets in the way but surprisingly not that much. "-The index finger rests on the trigger just before the first joint? Closer to the tip or further in and you'll jerk your weapon to the side and miss. Hold your other hand across your first, like this-" Another demonstration. "-For a good solid grip without being too tight. Push a little bit with your dominant hand, pull back a little bit with your off-hand and you'll be able to absorb shock way better. Now!"

.. There's a lot to learn. "See the two sights on the top of the pistol? It never hurts to make sure they line up, but the important one is on the end. You want to put the top of that sight at the center of your chosen target. ...Is mer vision better than human? Can we focus on two things at once?" Suddenly distracted by this idea he raises his own gun and takes aim at a target, frowning.

Crow can't help but let out a laugh when Yukio says he's had the gun for about five minutes. True, that. Maybe he's getting ahead of himself? But Crow's the sort of person who'd learn to run before he learns to walk.

As Yukio has pointed out, Crow is a quick study, somehow managing to be attentive even though this lesson has nothing to do with Dueling or motorcycles, and mimics Yukio's stance, adjusting his aim so the sights line up while his gun's pointed at once of the makeshift targets. While he's doing that, Crow answers Yukio's idle question, "It's been so long, I don't even remember what it was like bein' human."

Crow's mer vision is indeed better than when he was human, as is all his other senses. But none of them are terribly outstanding, compared to a monster that specialises in a particular sense.

Once the sights are lined up to Crow's satisfaction, he lowers his gun.

"Hey, what about what you see on TV shows? Y'know, like," Crow demonstrates by raising his gun and pointing it at one of the targets, before turning the gun sideways, the kind of thing you'd typically see a 'gangster' use.

He had no real frame of reference anymore either. "I do, sometimes. What I could hit, and from how far away, or similar things. But I haven't shot at pop bottles in years." Either way he doesn't think his sight's gotten WORSE, so anything else he could work with.

As Crow turns his weapon sideways, Yukio actually laughs. "You want to try it that way? Alright. Sight down your gun, sideways."

The practical side first!

Crow glances over at Yukio, taking in the rare laughter.

"I don't like that laugh."

Something about it tells Crow that he's about to make an absolute fool of himself somewhere in the next minute or so. Crow lets out a sigh, but grins all the same; it's good to hear him laugh. There's been too little of that, lately.

"Something stupid's gonna happen, isn't it?"

He won't pull the trigger until he has Yukio's go-ahead. Well, at least, not during this first lesson. In later lessons, though...

Boy is Crow gonna be in for a surprise!

The problem is immediate as soon as Crow attempts to sight down the pistol. Held sideways gangsta-style, it's not possible without doing a lot of twisting around.

The 'cool look' means not being able to aim at all, apparently.

"You won't get hurt or anything! And neither will your target, most likely. Pulling the trigger like that means you have no accurate sight and can't tell if your muzzle's aimed too high or too low. It's fast but it's hideously inaccurate."

He puts a single bullet in his revolver, clicks it into place and raises the weapon, sideways. "Where I'm from, we exorcists and various officers of the law love it when we see someone holding a gun sideways. It means we're not going to get shot most of the time." He takes aim at one of the paper targets and pulls the trigger. A sharp crack, and a hole does appear - at about the groin of the paper figure, nowhere near the circles. "Even I'm terrible at it and I'm a Dragoon."

He gestures to the magazine. "Put it back in, the exact way you took it out. You load a bullet the same way you checked the chamber, pull the slider back. You'll hear the click."

He's still grinning.

Crow tries tilting his head to sight down the gun while it's turned sideways... to little success. The heck! No wonder Yukio's laughing.

He can't help a wince when Yukio's shot hits the groin of the paper target. Sure, it's just a target, but imagining someone actually getting shot there is still enough to elicit sympathy for this imaginary hypothetical person.

He follows Yukio's instructions, putting the magazine back in the gun and pilling the slider back until it clicks.

"I can try shooting now, right?"

Once he gets the go ahead, Crow pulls the trigger. And immediately yelps when the recoil causes the gun to jerk in his hands. Luckily, all this time with riding duels means that his instinct is to tighten his grip, so he doesn't end up dropping the gun in his surprise. But he does feel a spike of pain from the sudden unexpected strain in his arms.

"What the hell." Crow lowers the gun. His bullet ended up going into the kneecap of the target next to the one he'd been 'aiming' at. "It's like tryin' to hold onto a slippery frog!"

It would certainly hurt but wouldn't kill the target, and as far as he's concerned if he can't kill a demon as opposed to shooting it in the crotch he shouldn't have the job. "Yes. Remember, push a little with one ha--"

And there's the shot, and the recoil that suggests Crow did not in fact remember to brace properly, which.. really is no surprise, it was a whole lot of information all at once.

"It's easier if you do it this way." He holds his own weapon up and demonstrates again, one hand over the other. "Push with dominant hand, pull with offhand, just a little. Line up your sights and try again. Don't hold the grip too tightly."

It always takes practice.

Shaking his hand, as if it would ease the tension in them, Crow forces himself to relax his death grip on the gun's handle. "Right, right, gotta loosen up..."

One hand over the other... This time, his stance is more textbook. No more holding the gun sideways; once was enough! He knows better than to try and look cool, now.

He raises the gun and aims again, this time with his tongue poking out between his teeth as he concentrates on lining up the sights with the centre of one of the targets... and fires!

The bullet hits the target in the shoulder, not the centre Crow had been hoping for, but...

"Alright!" Crow whoops, pumping a fist.

He's delighted anyway, even though he had started this entire training exercise with more than a little apprehension. Turning to Yukio, he grins, ecstatic.

"Did you see that!? I hit it!" Obviously.

Yukio's not going to rush him. As it was Crow wasn't thrilled about handling lethal weaponry, and until that changed in favor of the challenge of hitting the mark, and then doing it consistently ... well, as little pressure as he could apply. Sadly looking cool ... for either of them .. wasn't likely to happen. The glasses (or goggles) alone would see to that.

So he doesn't even MOVE except for the barest twitching back and forth of stingray-tail until after the crack of gunfire and following hole on the target.

Honestly he hadn't thought there'd be a direct hit at first, even if it was off-center. Which means as Crow turns, Yukio is looking both surprised and almost as pleased as Crow himself is.

"I saw! You want to go check it out or try for another shot or two?"

It could be natural skill. Figures a cop would!

If anything, Crow has decent hand-eye coordination. Very necessary for his work, as well as back in his days running around in a gang throwing handcuff-lassos around people. Aiming a gun's a bit different, but Crow's good at adjusting, at least.

"Lemme try again."

He raises the gun once more, sighting before adjusting his aim a bit more to the side. His next shot strikes the other shoulder, but closer to the neck this time. A pause, before the next bullet hits the target around where the collarbone would be. He has steady hands, and while his aim isn't perfect yet, he's taking his time with sighting and adjusting. The patience and slowness may be surprising, for someone who seems to want to go fast all the time.

The next bullet hits a shoulder again, though, and Crow lowers the gun, shaking out one of his hands.

"This is harder than it looks." Grinning, he continues, "Alright, let's go check 'em out!" A glance at the gun in his hand. "Should I take out the magazine or what?"

"Alright."

Yukio doesn't interrupt again, interruptions are for later to test concentration and focus, but thats' not something to spring on someone handling a gun for the first time. Someone might get shot - namely himself. And he wasn't fond of taking unnecessary risks. So he merely waits, some of his fins bristling a bit with each sharp crack, but hopefully he's off to the side enough where that's not going to be a distraction.

Honestly he'd expected more rushing. Crow could be methodological but he was also a maniac on a two wheeled crotch rocket death machine, and that didn't inspire much by way of willingness to take things slowly!

There's another twitch of a smile at that shake of a hand. This was probably going to take some getting used to. Would Crow bother? Guns were incredibly useful, but they were also incredibly lethal, and in spite of being an officer, he seemed to prefer things like .. card battles.

"It gets easier with time, I promise." Lots and lots of practice, says that tone of voice. "..And yes. Unload it, check the chamber as demonstrated before, keep it pointed away, all of that.. then set it down." And he's going to watch and see if Crow had been paying attention through the endless spiel of safety instructions before heading to take a look at his now shot up target.

Card battles is a much better method of law enforcement! You'll see one day, Yukio! One day!!

Crow can do practice. He might look like an andrenaline junkie, and he might seem flippant about minor things like danger, but that's built on the grounds of knowing his skills, which were built up on hours and hours of practice and keen oberservation.

"Alright, let's see..." Crow's tongue pokes out between his lips as he looks down at the small piece of machinery in his hands, trying to recall the instructions that had been given to him minutes ago.

"Pull out the magazine first, yeah?" He does exactly that, checking for bullets. Then, a pause, "I've forgotten something... Oh yeah!"

He pulls back the top of the gun to check the chamber for a bullet... which pops out after he rack's the slide. Caught by surprise, Crow lets the bullet fall out. "Is that supposed to happen?"

It just sounds so ridiculous!

"Yes. Better to have it pop out like that than forget it's there." And then possibly shoot someone! "They can be put back in anyway, it doesn't hurt anything."

But secretly, Yukio's pleased. He'd expected to have to repeat some of those lessons once or twice, and so far Crow has it all on the first run-through. Time would tell if it stuck, but why wouldn't it? Surely even card battles required rules and ways of doing things, this was simply a different way of doing things.

Crow was clever regardless. Even if there was no familiarity at all, surely he would be adept at catching on and remembering it when it was important enough.

"Let's go take a look at your targets a bit closer, and maybe set up something a little more interesting to shoot at." Interesting by the sound of it probably meant 'difficult' but Yukio has a wide variety of things out here that wouldn't be any harder. With safety seen to, it was safe! "Unless you want to grab a drink or use the pool for a minute." Drying out.. that was a thing he had never really encountered to this degree until becoming a mer himself.

"I still can't quite believe that a police officer never had to use weapons harsher than a deck of cards. What keeps criminals from just pulling out a gun?"

Something more interesting? Crow hopes he doesn't mean live targets... but Yukio knows full well that Crow's apprehensive about shooting in the first place so surely he wouldn't... would he? At least, not right now.

"They just don't." ??? Crow doesn't comprehend. Who would pull a gun when you have card games??? "Things are more peaceful in my world."

More civilised. Only the super uncouth would even do something like that!!

Crow ducks his head, briefly. But after hearing all the things that happen in other worlds, and witnessing the violence of Ryslig, it seems almost childish, the way they do things. But he wouldn't trade it for the world. Plenty of terrible things happened between Neo Domino and Satellite, but it only would've escalated so much more if violence factored into it. Perhaps they would've imploded. "We're just real lucky it's that way."

But the mention of the pool brings his attention to the water. He's long accustomed to the mer life, but...

"How're you coping with being a mer? You feeling icky and dry?"

PSL - Target Practice w/ Yukio

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Blah blah education. Better stuff next round.

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sorry, I took an unannounced break from RP for the last few weeks!

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two wheeled crotch rocket death machine is about my favourite description for a motorbike

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