[FIN] Give It a Shot

[Suudonym]

It didn't feel like something he should be hesitant about. Time and time again Luke had confronted individuals who had had no reservations against hurting him or his friends, and he had borne various wounds as a result of those confrontations. He understood on a personal level what it meant to bear a bullet, and he felt that that gave him an understanding of when it was appropriate to inflict that kind of damage against someone else. He had been prepared to learn how to carry that responsibility, but he couldn't summon the confidence to do so. Feeling that he was aware of Yuri's opinion on the matter, given that Yuri never hesitated to strike down a deserving opponent, Luke found himself in the lobby of the shooting range, thumbing through the informational brochures presented for visitors' perusal and wearing an expression one could call troubled.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Abel had a lot of various responsibilities around the gun-shop-slash-shooting-range, one of which was to wander around the front, straightening items and restocking informational displays as well as other small things. The largest expectation of him, though, was that he interact with customers and address their questions, needs, and concerns as best he could, and that responsibility drove him to approach the red head near the brochures.

"Hey," he greeted amicably as he leaned an elbow on one of the shelves near the display, offering the guy a friendly smile while noting his expression, "anything I can help you with?" While attire wasn't uniform at the store, he at least wore a nametag that showed his first name and verified his employment there.  

[Suudonym]

Luke looked to and blinked at the unfamiliar individual, recognizing him as an employee with little trouble. He hesitated, however, to give a response, unsure if his predicament was something that was polite to discuss with a stranger. Well, but as an employee at a firing range, maybe he could explain some of the elusive logic. "I have kind of a weird question," Luke said, the words tentative and preemptively apologetic. "Do you think it's justifiable to hurt someone to stop them from hurting someone else?"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

The blonde fully expected the initial look that people normally gave when some unfamiliar person addressed them, and the statement that his question was weird didn't surprise him either - he got those a lot, so he merely nodded and smiled. "I'm good with weird questions," he replied reassuringly, then listened as Luke posed his query. While not a common one, it was one he had heard at least a few times before, if not here in Camphoreon, so he offered the guy a confident nod. "Short answer's yes, I do. Long answer is as long as you know they're armed and/or dangerous, and that they would hurt you or the people you care about if they had the chance, then it's completely justifiable. Justified self-defense, I believe it's called," he explained, lifting his unoccupied hand palm-up in a quasi-shrug. That was kind of a heavy first question, but maybe that was part of why he looked so down. "I honestly wish that didn't need to be the case, but unfortunately it is in some instances. Not to say I'm condoning people running around carrying guns to shoot people that they think are gonna hurt them, 'cause I'm not. But, if your life or the life of someone you care for is in danger, and your only option is to shoot to prevent it, then yes, it is." A brief pause, and Abel inclined his head towards him with another friendly smile, "That answer your question?" Seriously though, that definitely was a heavy, loaded question.  

[Suudonym]

He frowned lightly at the response. He understood it, and it made sense, but it still felt… bad. Like an excuse. It was too easy to threaten others, though he supposed that was why self-defense was such a concern in the first place. He gave a small nod in response but followed with another inquiry, "How do you know when it's the only option, or the best option?" It seemed like a curiosity with a simple answer, but for the young man who too often obsessed over the what ifs, it was a much deeper and more significant problem.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

He shifted to lean his back against the shelves instead, and slipped his thumbs into his pockets. "That's another loaded question. I don't think you always know, but you don't always have the time to think about it until after. If you're in danger, you don't have time to say 'hold on, time out, I gotta think about this first' and then proceed to go into some internal debate where you weigh out your options - you'd be dead before you can even get to your first point. If the danger isn't immediate, you have time to think about the what if's and if it's the best or the only option in any particular circumstance, but then you're getting into the realm of things that may or may not even come up or happen."

Abel tilted his head a bit, watching Luke curiously for a few moments. "These are some pretty serious questions," he pointed out, though he didn't lose his smile or his amiable tone. "Mind if I ask why you're asking 'em?"  

[Suudonym]

So it was react first, regret later. It certainly didn't seem like the ideal, but then the ideal was probably to simply never face these problems in the first place. Besides, somewhere deep in his cognition Luke recognized that he would never be satisfied so long as anyone was hurt; he would always believe that there had been a better way. It just seemed like there was a better way and he had only to find it somehow.

The comment on the nature of his questions drew a lightly apologetic smile. "I hate seeing people get hurt more than anything," he admitted, "but my friends and I are opposing Team Rocket, so…" So as one could imagine, there was a whole lot of getting hurt involved.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Hey, you and me both," Abel replied in sincere tones, though the subject of Team Rocket made him curious. "Y'know, you're not the first person to mention them to me. I'm still pretty new to Kodo though and haven't had a whole lot of time to look them up; mind filling me in on what sort of stuff they do and how bad it is?" It sure sounded like this guy had the potential to be one that ran into them first-hand, though he seriously hoped not. No one should have to have first-hand experience with any sort of criminals, in his opinion, but the fact that people still did was upsetting.  

[Suudonym]

"Um," wow, it was kind of a difficult subject to summarize concisely, "well… Most people know them as an organization that steals pokemon; it's something that happens fairly frequently. Some of my friends have lost pokemon to them before. We're not really sure what their exact goals are or what the pokemon have to do with it, though I did encounter a Rocket once who was stealing a pokemon to keep for herself, so it could just be that they use their criminal status to do whatever they want." He hesitated briefly. "They're ruthless. It's not that they're all single-mindedly horrible people, but they all seem dedicated to their organization, regardless of what they're made to do." Faleen, of course, was another matter entirely, but to think that they were all plain villains was to discount his brother's dying efforts.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Thieves, huh? But he used the term 'ruthless' so that hinted at a certain kind of behavior in regards to theft. "And you're thinking of getting a gun to help protect you and your friends from them?" That's what it sounded like so far, though thieves... He wasn't too sure that using a gun against thieves was the best option. He did hate criminals, though theft usually wasn't on the bad end of that scale. "Are they really bad enough to warrant using firearms against them?"  

[Suudonym]

A tentative nod. He was thinking about it, but those thoughts were currently still obtuse and hypothetical. Wielding a sword was one thing - it doubled as a form of exercise to keep one's movements and attentions sharp - but a gun's only purpose was to harm. "My friend was shot," he elaborated in a low tone. "I was almost shot too, because the only way I had to protect another of my friends was to put myself between her and the bullet."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

A low whistle escaped him at the explanation, and he focused his gaze away and over to the shelves across from him. It remained there for a few moments before it shifted back to the red head, and his expression looked equal parts serious and apologetic. "I'm sorry that happened to you guys," he said, though he at least took heart in the fact no one had died, because he doubted such an event would be spoken of this calmly if death had been involved. "Makes sense now that you're interested in firearms, if they use them as well." Sounded like a mafia-esque deal or something, then. Armed theft. It didn't sound like they hesitated to injure innocent people, either, though he couldn't be sure. He made a mental note to look into them in-depth later, to better educate himself on just what he'd stumbled into by moving here.

He also realized, though, that he was here to help, not be helped, so he shifted his stance and his expression again, "Is there anything else I can help you with? Anymore questions?" While such words could be taken as a bid to end the conversation by some, his tones indicated an innate desire to help or answer any other questions he had - even sounding a little hopeful that he wanted to talk more. Safety would always be his top priority, and this sounded like an instance in which, unfortunately, firearms would help.  

[Suudonym]

Interested in firearms, sure, but not at all confident in them despite Yuri's instruction - and though the offer for further practice stood, he wasn't entirely sure he would be able to make much of it as he was. He raised a hand to push through his hair, uncertain. "Is there any kind of trick to staying calm handling a gun?" he hazarded. "I gave it a try the other day, but… it doesn't seem easy to get used to."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Practice," Abel replied with a smile. "It's like picking up any new hobby, it takes practice to get used to it. Can't just fire a gun once or twice and expect to be awesome or super comfortable with it. If you're seriously interested in it, we have lessons and stuff here, or you can come practice on your own. We've got the firing range out back as well as an indoor one that's smaller, so you can take your pick. It can be a difficult thing to get into, and it's definitely not for everyone."  

[Suudonym]

A thoughtful silence, them, "What are the lessons like?" He would prefer to at least be comfortable enough to put his finger on the trigger the next time he petitioned assistance from Yuri.