[FIN] Give It a Shot

[BlackFireKitsune]

The question shifted Abel's focus to his hands as one raised to enumerate the points visually with his fingers, "We start out talking a lot about safety, proper gun handling and etiquette, for starters, then focus on how to hold the gun as well as proper stances to most effectively reduce kickback and chance of injury. How to aim, how to fire.. We also include how to clean and re-load them, among other things," he finished, lowering his hands and looking back at him with another smile. "I'm one of the ones that gives lessons too, so. Oh," he paused, moving to pull one particular brochure from the informational display and offering it to him, "I almost forgot - this has all kinds of info on the lessons we give as well as lengths and prices and stuff."  

[Suudonym]

He nodded lightly in understanding, accepting the brochure and skimming the contents of the back cover. "A friend explained a lot of that," he said, recalling a sense of familiarity with many of the mentioned topics, "but I guess a beginner is a beginner, huh?" It wasn't as though he had the convenience of picking and choosing what information the lessons covered - and besides, a reprisal probably had its own benefits.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Yeah?" Cool, sounded like he'd at least had some experience with guns, though it didn't sound like much. Still. "Hey, some experience is better than no experience, right? Can't expect to progress though with only a little instruction and practice once or twice though. I always suggest lessons even with prior experience because it cements in the most important points and proper safety and handling. Is your friend a gun enthusiast?" He asked, tilting his head a bit curiously.  

[Suudonym]

"That's true," he agreed, considering it thoughtfully. He remembered reviewing the basics time and again when learning to use a sword - though he hadn't understood the theory behind such reviews as clearly then and had been frustrated by what seemed like wasting time covering things he knew instead of learning new techniques. That aside. He shook his head, "No, I don't think you could call him that. He's just familiar with how to use them."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Ah, okay," he replied amiably. Just 'familiar' huh? "Yeah, I'd definitely suggest a couple lessons then if you're seriously interested in learning," Abel said as he gestured with one hand to the brochure in Luke's hands. "Let me know if you're interested and I can set you up with some if you want."


A decision was made and a lesson began, with Abel focusing first on safety points, then how to load and unload a gun with proper ammunition, followed by the correct way to stand and hold the gun as well as how to aim and shoot. He'd save maintenance for after, if Luke expressed interest in learning, or interest in owning a gun. He didn't push the guy into shooting until he was ready and comfortable, though, even encouraging him to relax. They had plenty of time, after all. Once they had finished firing, Abel picked up the gun and pulled out the magazine and checking the chamber to make sure it was now empty, focusing on it while speaking to Luke, "It's really not that hard to shoot, mostly just remembering a bunch of common sense safety stuff," which a lot of people forgot or neglected. He slipped the magazine back in and lifted his gaze to the red head, keeping the gun pointed down and away from them and others. "How're you feeling about it now?"  

[Suudonym]

It was with some reluctance that Luke had agreed to try one of the lessons; though he understood that the discomfort would be alleviated through exposure, it was discomfort nonetheless. Much of the information imparted was a refresher on what he had heard from Yuri, but there was certainly no harm in hearing it again in detail - the opposite, really. It was difficult to separate from the idea of a gun as an instrument of pain and death, but he gave a gradual effort. If this was the best way to protect someone, after failing with both words and pokemon, then walking away from the opportunity now could very well mean losing a life in the future.

"It's kind of surreal," he said, rotating his wrist idly. He still didn't particularly like it, but at this point it wasn't really a matter of liking it or not. He frowned lightly, thoughtful. "It… doesn't seem very practical, though. I mean, it's fine for hitting a target at the end of a range, but I can't imagine an attacker or something standing there and waiting for you to aim…"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

His trepidation was obvious, and Abel attempted to alleviate as much of that as he could. It was a little difficult, though, since he only partially knew where Luke was coming from, but still. "Yeah, I can see that, though my dad taught me to use firearms when I was a kid, and I'd been seeing them around the house before that, so I never really thought of them as surreal or out of the ordinary or anything," he explained with a shrug as he set the gun down on a nearby table at their station.

Luke's concerns were valid, and made his brows furrow thoughtfully. "No, yeah, I know what you mean. This here's kind of more for sport and stuff, but there's no reason you can't use it to get a solid foundation and get your speed up, and then you can practice on moving targets. Plus targets in closer range are a lot easier to hit, but then your stance would be different, and there's the possibility of them disarming you..." He trailed off, thoughtful still. "I'm all for people learning how best to protect themselves from attackers with guns though. Pokemon are awesome, but if you don't have ones that can protect you, or if they're not an option for some reason..." The blonde shrugged.  

[Suudonym]

He could understand the explanation; Luke had a similar relationship with swords. People around Kodo were often put off by the archaic weaponry, though Luke had grown up working with them and found it perfectly natural to carry one.

A nod; practicing on stationary targets at a shooting range seemed good for inscribing the physical memory of basic postures and movements, but presumably it could only take a person so far - especially against Rocket, whose training one could only conjecture. "I guess I should just focus on this for now," he concluded. "Save concerns about advanced stuff for until after I can handle the basics."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Yep, that's the best I can suggest for now," he agreed with a nod, idly sticking his thumbs in his pockets. Mention of more advanced things made him frown softly, and he raised a hand to scratch the back of his neck a bit. "We don't offer a lot of advanced stuff here, unfortunately, but..." He frowned again. It was for his own personal safety, and that of his friends, after all... The expression cleared and he lowered his hand again, once again offering a smile. "I practice a lot with moving targets though by myself - we don't have any here - and if you want, once you've got a solid grasp of the basics and stuff, I can help you out with more practical stuff if you want."  

[Suudonym]

He would have been mildly disheartened by the initial words, but the lingering 'but' left a faint curiosity in his disposition, as did the instructor's shifting expression. The offer that followed drew a slight surprise, "That would be really useful, but… would that be okay? Bothering you outside of your job like that…" Practicing on his own was one thing, but Luke assumed it would be much more of a hassle to have a newbie along seeking instruction.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Nah, it's fine," he assured him, waving a hand dismissively as he did so, before his thumbs found his pockets again. "I practice with them pretty often now that I've gotten into the swing of things living here, so usually a couple times a week at least. The rest of the time I'm practicing here," he gave a vague gesture to indicate the range, "when I'm done working. So if you want, I can take you out for moving target practice sometime once you're ready. And it's not a bother at all, if it'll help you out."  

[Suudonym]

"I would appreciate it," he said at length. He maintained some reservation, but the man certainly seemed sincere enough in his offer. "Thanks."