Lawrence, Kansas

[tobeclosetohim]

Somewhere after the eggs and bacon breakfast, and after a trip into town, and return with many bags, there was the first lesson on gun cleanliness. Which went well enough for educational, but dull on both sides, even though Rachel managed to look attentive and Jo managed to look severe.

With that over, Jo grabbed her brown leather jacket and made for the front door.

"I found a spot this morning while you were out."

Comments

[theresnodoor]

"That's not the problem," Rachel mutters, trying to concentrate. Her stance, her vision, her hands on the gun.

But she isn't criticizing the gun, the targets, the bullets. She's criticizing her own faulty, nothing senses. How can she be expected to aim without eagle eyes? How can Jo want her to keep her hands steady on the recoil without thick, corded muscle like a bear? How does she expect her to just learn all this, when there are no natural instincts to give her a hint?



...like most other humans do it, probably.

Rachel keeps scowling through every shot. But she does improve.

[tobeclosetohim]

She sinks into the recoil and never startles at the blast. Two things people brand new to guns and shooting never did. Jo watched it calmly adding it to the list of things that were Rachel.

Her hands laid on the boards, she watched.

In more ways, she remembered.

"you're tightening your upper arms before you shoot."

[theresnodoor]

"I don't want to get knocked off-balance with the recoil," Rachel replies, a little strained, glaring when her gun clicks on empty. She sighs after that, holding the gun at her side and brushing her hair back again. "What do you do?"

[tobeclosetohim]

"This." Jo turns without pause, it happens in a flash of seconds.

Her legs spread over the beam from sitting, hook on the board in the middle. Her right hand reaches around her left side under her jacket as her left arm moves out, and there's an automatic in her hands.

Her face doesn't tighten except when she's reaching for the gun. Her body is a straight line, not wavering, absorbing shock in a wave, staring forward with both eyes.

The first three bottleglasscandle go down. Then one is skipped, can goes down, the two are skipped, bottle, then three are skipped, smallcandle.

[theresnodoor]

Rachel's watching - but not the targets. Her gaze never moves from Jo's stance, the line of her shoulders specifically, how she absorbs the recoil, since Rachel's method obviously didn't work.

Although, the clink of glas to go with the sound of a gunshot is duly noted.

"All right." She lifts her gun again, clicking it open to the empty rounds and pulling a box of ammunition from the pocket of her fallen jacket. Clicking in one after the other, she doesn't look up, speaking to the rounds. "Let me try again."

[tobeclosetohim]

Jo settled looking back at her. Blinking, a slow breath releasing from her nose.

Relaxing from not even tensing herself. It's a work in itself.




A process she may never master completely. No matter the years.

[theresnodoor]

Luckily, no one's asking anyone to master anything. Not yet.

Gun loaded and back in her stance, Rachel lifts the gun and runs through the whole process again.

More bottles and glasses explode, only missing two out of all six rounds. And Rachel still lowers the gun with a sigh, dissatisfied.

"Seriously, this is way harder than it looks."

[tobeclosetohim]

"Takes a long time to get to easy."

Jo voices is surprisingly soft, even speaking loud enough to carry.

"It's harder the better you want to be."

At least for everyday mortals.

[theresnodoor]

Humans. Meh. This kind of fighting isn't hard - it's difficult, requires training her body, isn't something it does naturally.

It's amazing how annoying that is.

Sighing again, Rachel sets the gun down on top of her jacket, using a band on her wrist to pull her hair back and keep it from falling in her face again. "Same for combat, I'm guessing. Or is that harder?"

[tobeclosetohim]

"'Bout."

Jo jumps down off the fence, gun stowed safely away already.

"More bruising there."

[theresnodoor]

"More adrenaline then, though," Rachel points out, picking up the shoulder holster to shrug into it again. She twists the gun around in her hands, careful of the heat and sighs, looking up at Jo.

"Again?"

Or is that enough for now?

[tobeclosetohim]

"Your choice. We've got the morning. You can shoot more. You can try combat. You can sit on your ass an do nothin'."

Jo's not her drill instructor. That much is clear.

She's not forcing it. It's up to her to decide what she wants.

[theresnodoor]

At the last comment, Rachel looks over and grins, amused at least. "Not really feeling like the last idea right now."

There's so much to do - or at least, there should be so much to do. And she's in no place to do it right now.

But she will be.

The cylinder of the gun clicks when it spins, re-loaded and Rachel moves back into her stance. "Combat later."

She's only just getting the hang of this part.

[tobeclosetohim]

Rachel doesn't see since Jo's off to her side and back now.

But there's a grim faint approval on her face.


She'll walk behind after a point of announcing herself, while the shooting happens, using two fingers to correct small things with little force. Just enough touch to make her notice.

When her shoulders are up. When she isn't standing straight.

To laugh when something suddenly explodes beyond them.

It'll take time, but she's doing good at faster learning. Which was what this world demanded.

[theresnodoor]

And that, at least, she knows how to do.

That grim determination on Rachel's face turns to intense concentration, listening and shifting along with Jo's instruction.

Until she ends up grinning, giddy and amused and laughing when Jo does, with the sound of exploding glass in the background.

By the time her first box of ammunition is empty, Rachel is relaxed and happy, grinning as she holsters the gun and takes a look at their ruined shot-practice - and the fence full of holes.

"That was fun," Rachel announces with a happy little sigh, shrugging her jacket back on.

[tobeclosetohim]

Only one proper response another pretty girl with a gun, who isn't incompetent, enjoying herself.

"Fuck yeah."

[theresnodoor]

Rachel laughs again, grinning at-- well, a pretty girl with a gun, who isn't incompetent, enjoying herself.

Best damn teacher she ever had.

"You have stuff to do today?"

[tobeclosetohim]

That gets a partly dry glance up.

"I should check in."



At least with Dean or Dianne.

Someone she wasn't likely to scowl at.




Too much.

[theresnodoor]

"Cool." There is nodding and small smiles. "I wanna look around a bit."

A few different ways, at that: eagle eyes, the wolf's nose, and the bear's...

Well, she just likes the bear.

[tobeclosetohim]

"Here or want me to drop you somewhere on my way in?"

[theresnodoor]

"I can make my way back to your place eventually. Give you time to... warn the locals, or whatever."

[tobeclosetohim]

It wasn't a hard road back. And she'd made it Topkea fine all on her own.

So Jo shrugged, with a grin.

"Catch you when your back."

[theresnodoor]

"Sounds good." Rachel smiles and waves, already heading around the house again. "Hey... thanks for all this."

[tobeclosetohim]

Jo's grin was more wan this time.

With a simple nod, her hands shoving half into her tight jeans.

"Keep practicing and you just might enjoy the ride in this world."

[theresnodoor]

"And without a bike, too."

Rachel smirks, waves once more, and is gone.