[lonewolf]

Mark had made a lot of bad decisions in his life. Moving to Japan, "adopting" Dante, stealing his little brother's lunch money when they were kids and blaming it on Dad. This one was far up there on his list, and unfortunately for him this was one of those decisions he could very easily live long enough to regret. 

The field Mark had selected today's training was something that most students used to gauge ranges on their quirks. It was mostly dirt, long, flat, and near the end there were a few large mounts of dirt in order to catch projectiles. There were even a few meter ranges that they could use to best judge distance. Of course, no one hardly used it and Mark had commandeered a corner for his own training purposes, and it was also one of the few times he had to share it with anyone else. 

All because Marlene wanted to learn how to shoot. 

It was a bad idea. A very bad idea. In fact he didn't want to do it, but then he might get in trouble for being the only expert on campus and then someone got hurt because he wasn't there to supervise, blah blah blah. Either way, he was going to start out small and explain the basics once again to Marlene once she got there. On a folding table he would have several boxes of ammunition, and three different guns. Two would be familiar as they were the ones he kept on his person at all times, the usual Carry and the ever elusive Wayward Son. Along with them would be an unfamiliar, smaller revolver laying on top of the table, along with safety glasses and ear muffs. 

Marlene Lovechild

[Marlene Lovechild]

Marlene was a very punctual creature.

Having a built-in internal clock helped. So, when told to show up, she showed up. A bit earlier, even, in order to account for finding one's way around the place. She was as dainty as ever, though her typical black and white dress was replaced by the academy's PE uniform. Green and white colors, pants and a jacket on a zipper. She put it on without complaint, knowing that it was an appropriate thing to wear in such places. But there was something inside that offered a smidget of resistance. Was it ... dislike?

Maybe. For the uniforms here appeared tasteless. But her species doth protest too much. And so, when the time came, she approached her teacher, whom she spotted from afar, getting the stands and his personal corner ready. He seemed a bit busy, and so the automaton decided to do something uncharacteristic of her. Having recalled their past interactions, Marlene decided to build rapport by showing humor. Zenkai, whom she had a strange relationship with, convinced her of her sense of humor. Approaching from behind, from an angle he could not see, the automaton would announce her presence, by asking a very important question.

Her voice rang out, more metallic than usual.

"Where is Sarah Connor?"

[lonewolf]

Mark would be counting out rounds as Marlene approached. He had heard soft footsteps behind but wasn't expecting her to remain in his blindspot nor pull from one of the same dated jokes he made the last time they met. Or did he think it and not say it aloud? Either way, the parallels were unsettling, so as he turned around he'd have a frown on his face. "You know, saying things like that makes me question my own decision making," holding up one of the fatter rounds as he pointed it at her. "Not funny, dishonor on your cow." He slide the round into a cylinder he was holding, taking a step to the side as he indicated the table. "I'm going to start you off today with .22. The cartridge in question," he picks up a small bullet, tossing it her way, "is that. Not a lot of stopping power, but when it comes to pistols it's a good introduction round. Not very loud, not a lot of recoil."

He turned around, setting the cylinder down and sliding the smaller revolver down the table for Marlene. "Be careful with this. Belonged to my grandfather, and I've had to repair it a few times. Break action, holds seven. What are the four main rules when it comes to gun safety?" It was a surprise question, but he needed to know if she remembered the tenants.

Marlene Lovechild

[Marlene Lovechild]

"You brought this on yourself."

Marlene responded to the commentary about questioning one's own judgment with a tone that could best be described as ... sass? It was hard to tell. Whatever it was, it was spoken with a perfect pokerface only a machine could provide. When he moved to the side, the girl observed all the various tools and instruments of destruction. The one intended for her was the smallest one, with the smallest cartridge. She caught the bullet tossed her in one uncannily fluid motion, and held it up to inspect it. Memorizing the size and shape of it, as well as how it felt in hand, before putting it back on the table.

When Mr. Browning asked her about the rules, her head turned to face him with an audible snap. Tilting to the side a little, akin to motions pidgeons make, when curious.

"Recollecting... First rule - always assume the weapons are loaded, unless proven otherwise. Do not look into the barrel of the gun to investigate. Second rule - do not point the weapon at anyone besides the intended victim. Third rule - do not keep the finger on the trigger when not firing. Fourth rule - ensure there are no unintended victims in the general vicinity behind the target."

After the automaton girl recited that, her eyes went back to look at the revolver presented to her. The one that shot the smallest caliber. 

"Could you tell me more about the round and the weapon?" - Marlene asked. Not touching the weapon, just yet. Waiting for permission, like a disciplined student would. Or an indecisive one. 

[lonewolf]

Mark nodded, seeming to be satisfied as he picked up a pair of safety glass and pointing them at Marlene. "Good. I expected nothing less. Now, that there is an antique break action revolver. Ain't anything special, but unloading it is a ton of fun. Go ahead and pick that up and put these on." He handed her the pair, producing a pair of aviators and slipping them on. "We don't have the luxury of eye and ear protection in the field. Well, we could, but then we'd look stupid. If you want to integrate any kind of protection out in the field that's your prerogative, but in training it's mandatory. Targets downrange are angled in such a way to prevent ricochets back at us, but you can never be too careful. Ear protection also keeps your eardrums from rupturing. Not as dangerous with smaller calibers, but better to establish good habits early."

He slid a box of ammunition towards her, tapping the top. "Twenty-two long rifle. Also known as the Assassin's Bullet. Standard rounds are not menacing and lack a lot of penetrating power and typically not recommended for carry. However, if they do penetrate a target then they're one of the most dangerous. It's not uncommon for a bullet to deflect off of bone, and this round is notorious for it. Unless you're shooting magnum the twenty-two likes to stay in the body, bounce around and turn your organs into swiss cheese. Hit the soft spot of the skull and it'll bounce around inside your head worse than a catchy song. Release lever is on the left, press it down all the way and push down on the barrel, gently. Despite my efforts I've not been able to find replacement release levers."

Marlene Lovechild

[Marlene Lovechild]

"Do not worry. I was taught to treat my elders with respect."

Marlene was talking about the gun. Before taking it, though, she put on the ear and eye protection. Hardly needed any, she was built with durability in mind. But rules were rules, and the automaton was a very rule-abiding artificial girl. 'Even though they look tasteless...' - the machine thought to herself. Once that was done, she carefully picked up the weapon. There was a firmness to her hold, though, as she wanted not to drop it. The carefulness was not to apply too much force to the grip.

*CLICK!*

She did as she was told, pressed the lever on the left, and then pushed down the barrel of the gun. Once that happened, she would inspect the cilinder, to see if there were any bullets inside. If there were none, the weapon would be considered safe for everyone else. Marlene's attention was towards the release lever that her teacher was talking about. She seemed ... concerned. A brief emotion crossed her features. Something akin to what a mother would have on her face when a child tripped and sprained an ankle. 

"The release lever does not seem complicated to make. I could ask my mother if she could produce another one for you. She used to be a famous clocksmith. I am certain in her ability to create a spare part for your weapon, should the schematic and appropriate compensation for the effort be provided."

[lonewolf]

The offer was, to be frank, enticing. As time went on older guns were more and more becoming hard to find, and replacement parts even more so. Having a spare lever on hand would be...

"Let's focus on the task at hand," he says, tapping on the box. "Go ahead and load 'er up. Should be relatively simple, lead tip goes in first. It's double action, so that means you don't have to pull the hammer back for each trigger pull." All things considered, Lone Wolf wasn't going to look over her shoulder. While he was cautious and protective over the revolver he wasn't going to watch her every move. At least, not until she finished loading.

Picking the Carry up, he held it in one hand and turned to better show Marlene the proper technique. "Alright, you want to hold the gun in your dominant hand. Forget what you've seen on TV, there's three different ways to hold a gun: the proper way, the badass way, and then the dumbass way. I'm going to show you proper first as it is the best in terms of safety and stability." He paused, thinking of the best way to go about this. In the end continuing with his dominant hand would be best. "So you want to keep your feet shoulder-width apart, and keep yourself at a slight angle to your target. Gun in dominant hand, other hand reaching over to hold onto the gun like so." His left hand came up to cover the fingers on his right, aiding in the stability of the gun. "This allows you to get a good sight picture, as well as reduce recoil and maintain accuracy."

Marlene Lovechild

[Marlene Lovechild]

"Loading the weapon."

Marlene was very meticulous with bullets. Picking one up and inserting it into the cylinder, with a mechanical similarity of motions. Though this was her first time holding a gun, she did not appear to have any anxiety over doing so. Then again, it was easier, psychologically, to handle a weapon that could do you no harm. Still, she kept the cautionary tales of her teacher in mind, and was not about to break established rules. When loaded, she closed the weapon back, with a click. It was armed. 

Not it was the time to learn how to stand and aim it. 

The automaton looked at Mr. Browning, and even walked around behind him, observing him from every angle as he assumed the position. She would copy it, as she often would. Fortunately, motions were much easier to emulate than facial expressions, or emotions. Here, things had a purpose and were much more ... simple. Keeping the finger off the trigger, she stood next to her teacher, though a distance away, and emulated the way he stood, lifting the gun up and aiming it at the target away, even holding the hands the way he did. 

"Is this the right way?" - Marlene asked for confirmation. "I do not have a dominant hand. Is there a difference between holding the weapon in either?" - she asked another question. "What is the purpose of two other ways if this is the proper one?"

The machine was certainly full of things to ask her teacher about. Even though her voice remained largely neutral, there was a twinge of excitement about it. 

She liked learning things.

[lonewolf]

Mark turned, and he was not prepared to be barraged by questions like that one after another. Which...was different. He was always giving students basic answers to questions, partly because he didn't really care but also because he wanted them to figure things out for themselves. All he was doing was providing basic information on how to operate in the field. This was different, however.

"You want the best control with your dominant hand. The dominant hand is the one that is going to take the brunt of the recoil, and will always be the one you're firing with. Your other hand is there to help stabilize and provide a platform to ensure the best accuracy. It's why one-handed use is capable of being used." He lowered his arms, setting his gun back down as he looked at her form. "You're as good as it gets. You could maybe bring your right foot back a little, but that's only to help widen your base. With a peashooter like this it doesn't generate enough recoil to warrant it."

He paused, a little, shrugging. "There's a lot of positions out there that can be used, but this is the most common. One-handed, or the badass way, lets you fire from a much wider range of angles or positions. As I mentioned, it's not as stable accuracy wise, but with enough practice you could be pretty deadly with a one-handed grip. There's also the whole Cowboy thing, but that's a whole other lesson for another time."

With a sigh he reached for his gun again, holding it up sideways and hunching over. "And this is one of many ways to hold it wrong. Poor grip, bad angle for your body to absorb the recoil, you don't get a good sight picture, and you look stupid. Ran into some kids like this once outside a major city, and between two guns and twenty shots the most damage they did was hurt a wall's feelings. Anyways, line up the front post with the rear sight." Straightening out and setting his gun down again, he pointed at the shaped metal at the back of the gun. "That little 'V' is there to set the post. Put the post on one of those targets out there and pull the trigger."

Marlene Lovechild

[Marlene Lovechild]

"Doing as told."

Marlene was very compliant with everything mr. Browning taught her. After all, he was the expert, and the automaton girl saw no reason to do things differently, unless his methods would prove to be inefficient. She moved her back foot back a little, cupped the bottom of the handle with her left hand, and aimed with her right. She lined up the post to the V-shaped riticule the way she was taught to, and aimed at the target. And then...

BLAM!

She fired. 

The girl did not move an inch. Nor did her hand, or her wrist. As if recoil was not something she could feel, among many other things. There was a reason. She locked her joints together, turning herself into one solid piece of metal, weighting 450 lbs. She remained frozen in place, like a statue, the gun still pointing at the target. The post still lined up to the V-shaped sights. For a first shot of someone who held a gun for the first time in their life, the accuracy was ... excellent. The bullet hit only slightly off of where she aimed. And yet, by looking through sights, Marlene could see it too. A small frown crossed her features.

"Hmm... The projectile did not land exactly where I aimed it at. What mistake did I make?"

[lonewolf]

Mark couldn't help but blink. If he didn't see the small fire coming from the barrel or hear the sound of the bullet he would have thought that she didn't fire the gun. Either way, he picked up a small spotters scope and looked downrange, aaaaand...

"Well, based on your stance, nothing." He frowned a little. The metal target had pinged once the round impacted, and the mark was almost dead center. "Assuming you're doing everything perfect then the sights might be off, the round wobbled in flight, or some other factor. Shooting's a science, though, and you can't make a clear conclusion with just one bullet."

He set the scope down, looking back over at Marlene. "Good shot or not, when you're first starting out you want to focus on consistently over accuracy. Full send it, aim at that same spot again and lets see what your grouping looks like." Mark knew beyond shadow of a doubt that the girl's consistency was going to be almost as devastating as her accuracy; it's part of the reason why he didn't want to do this. But they were here now, and Mama didn't raise no quitter.

Marlene Lovechild

[Marlene Lovechild]

"Very well. Inserting additional projectiles into the target."

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Marlene emptied the gun into the target, as she was told to do. Very methodically, with an equal time frame between each shot. She did not move an inch. Then again, this was a weak bullet. The weakest, in fact! The shots all landed very close to one another, one hole overlapping with the other. All of them, though, seemed a bit off-center. The closest one nicked the bullseye with its outer circle, but that was it. 

Maybe the sights were off, indeed. Or maybe there was a slight wind that made the bullet go a bit off-course. Either way, after firing all of the bullets, the gun was empty. Still, the automaton remembered the instructions, and checked the weapon if it was charged, before opening it up and dropping the casings into her hand. They were hot, but Marlene did not feel the heat.

"Why did you decide to learn to use a gun, mr. Browning? Did you pursue the career of a weapon instructor on purpose? Or does it have anything to do with your quirk?" - the machine asked something that was, surprisingly, not directly related to what it was they were doing. She did not even need to look at the weapon, while she loaded it, instead her unblinking eyes focused on the man. She expected an answer of some kind.

That, or further instructions on how to improve her groupings.

[lonewolf]

The gun ejected all the casings at once, and Mark had once again picked up his spotter's scope. "Yeah, you can cover that with a dime," he says, finger tapping on the table. "Let's aim for a target further out. I think we can rule out your posture, so let's try winding just a little bit."

He set the scope down, looking back at Marlene. "Winding's a technique to compensate for bullet drop or wind. You're basically aiming at a different point on your target to compensate for factors you have no control over." He pointed out at the target again. "Hence the science part. You want a tight grouping like that to ensure that you're consistent before you attempt to make any efforts to adjust for accuracy. Which is why practicing in your off time is important. When you shoot further out, fire three rounds first then pause. Try to adjust for the rounds hitting just right, but also make sure that you're not getting any bullet drop."

He held up his hand. "Every gun is different. Different bullets have different ballistics, and this can vary even if you shoot the same kind of bullet with the same load out of different guns. Consistency is key."

The question made him shrug, letting his hand down. "My area of expertise is in environmental awareness. You never know when a villain will catch you by surprise, and you can't take everything at face value. Technically, I'm not certified to be teaching this." He looked downrange again, and at the targets lined up. "I incorporated firearms into my strategies because that's what my old man used in the field, and it's easier to get two-bit thugs to be compliant when they're staring down a barrel chambered in the Lord's caliber."

Marlene Lovechild

[Marlene Lovechild]

'Yeah, you could cover that with a dime.'

Marlene gave her teacher a glancing look, when he said that. A shadow of a smile briefly appearing on her otherwise neutral facial features. There was something she liked. Something rare. Praise. But acting overtly on it was not good behavior. It was immodest. So her mother said, once. And she remembered. Still, the automaton soaked the new information like a sponge, in order to make her second attempt at shooting. The post to be aimed at was further, this time. She approached the firing position, and assumed the same shooting stance.

Blam!

First shot she aimed directly at the target. The bullet veered a little to the left, and down. Likely accounting for the distance. 

Marlene made corrections for the wind, and aimed again.

Blam!

This one was dead-center, but slightly below the bullseye. Carefully tilting the gun up, the automaton aimed slightly above the target, this time. Once more, breathe out and squeeze the trigger. Except for the former part. Machines do not breathe.

Blam!

The third shot hit the target square in the center, making a nice, neat hole in the paper target. 

"Your advice has proven correct. By following it, I managed to hit what I was aiming at." - Marlene said, briefly dropping out of the shooting stance, to await further instructions. "If you are not certified to teach weapon handling, then you do not have a duty to do so." - the automaton replied astutely, turning her head at an uncomfortable angle, to face the man. "Why did you agree to teach me in your spare time, mr. Browning?"

[lonewolf]

There was a lot to unpack in that question, but Mark wanted to focus first on the objective at hand. Taking the scope, he watched the progress. While it was impressive, it went contrary to what he was taught. "Remember, consistency is more important than accuracy. You did good there, but you never, ever want to make corrections on your first shot. Especially if you're working with a weapon you're not completely in tune with. Three shots, check your group, adjust, then test again." It was dumb to emphasize this so much, but Mark was also used to dealing with humans. Being taught by humans, teaching humans...and now he was teaching a literal machine. A part of him still wasn't sure if that was a good idea.

Which lead to him circling back to the question. "Call it a pride thing. Japan doesn't exactly have the laxest of gun laws, and owning and operating firearms is something that is only taught to various organizations here. It makes sense to an extent, but a part of me wants to rebel against it. But that's the part of me that has a deep distrust of the government and prefers to have security on me at all times."

He set the scope down, looking at her again. "You asked, which is grounds enough for me to teach. As much shit as the rest of the world gives the US about our gun laws, it is something that is engrained in us. Basically, I like to think I'd know more than a standard firearms expert here."

Marlene Lovechild