After the brief gun safety display, Fergus had retrieved a rifle for each of us, alongside a pouch of ammunition and hearing protection. We followed him out to range.
The sound of gunfire was evident the moment we left the building. The range was built multi story and the targets were set out up to miles away. Each shooting position was a full body stall where you could fire from prone, supported kneeling or supported standing with walls on either side to provide both privacy and a distraction prevention aid.
"Right, all of you find a stall and don’t bother the others. Your goal today is not to hit the targets, but to get used to your gun, more importantly, getting used to absorbing the recoil as if you do it wrong, your shoulder will dislocate."
Everyone began hastily making their way to the range. Each desperate to begin shooting. Meanwhile, Janine and I began climbing the stairs on the side of the building to the top floor. I could see in her eyes how desperately she wanted to shoot this gun, and with her being the driving force for me taking this class, I felt it more than fair.
"So, Janine, are you going to be alright just standing there while I fire the gun?" I said with a serious tone. Janine looked up at me, pain hidden directly underneath the skin at my remark until she noticed the playfulness in my eyes.
"Don’t tease me Apollo, not right now. Please. I cannot stress enough how badly I need to shoot this gun." I chuckled softly and patted her on the back, giving a comforting rubbing motion on top.
"Don’t worry, we will go get the corner. That way, we are less likely to be spotted" The range was quite large, built for at least three hundred people and with the club currently having much less than that, most people were on the second and first floor.
Though there were a handful of individuals present. We didn’t interact with them, they were all shooting their weapons so we stayed as quiet as possible, though we couldn’t have been any louder than all the rounds going off.
We eventually made it to the end stall only to realise it was occupied by our friend. Evanthe was sitting there next to her gun reading what looked to be her aforementioned instructions for her ferrokinetic bullet that Fergus had made for me.
"How’s it going?" I asked, as Janine already began setting up in the stall adjacent. Evanthe visibly jolted in surprise at the sudden intrusion before realising it was her pretty friend and smiled.
"Honestly? Not great. Adding the specialised energy to the bullet is making it hard for me to control. How do you do it with your fire energy?"
’Have a being capable of casual godhood inside your origin doing the heavy lifting.’ I thought, getting a warm feeling throughout my body as I thought that; Sol had clearly liked the compliment.
However, I replied slightly differently. "It’s not about adding, it’s about harmony, connecting the two together in balance. You shouldn’t be trying to force the two energies together, try wrapping them into each other, guiding them into the shape of the bullet instead of forcing them in. Psionic energy knows what it’s doing and it flows better when not being forced."
Evanthe didn’t reply, she had fallen into a deep contemplation at what I just said. I nodded my head at this, clearly something I said had resonated with her. I was glad, she might be a new friend, but I look after my friends regardless.
Turning my attention to my own stall, I was greeted by a pleasant sight. "Oh wow, I forgot how nice your rear looks when prone." I said honestly. Janine looked back from zeroing her scope and smirked.
"Oh yeah? You like staring at my ass?" She queried before twerking it ever so slightly. I was slightly taken aback, expecting her to call me an ass like usual. Janine then giggled, clearly I had fallen for her little reversal.
"You can stare at it all you want later, come here, I will tell you how to shoot this thing properly." She said and rolled out of the way for me to lie down. I did as Janine asked, she was the expert marksman here after all.
After lying down, I placed the gun stock against my cheek then against my shoulder. "Good, Now~" I suddenly jolted as I felt a weight on my back. Janine had sat atop me like a saddle, her legs on either side of my torso.
She began to move my limbs and prod me in places to anchor my body better for the shot. Meanwhile, Janine had gotten slightly distracted at one point as even through his Jacket, she could feel all of Apollo’s muscles and with her unsuppressed feelings, it was making her gulp every few seconds. Honestly, it was taking her all to not begin grinding on his back.
"Janine?" I asked, not having received any prodding for a few seconds. This snapped Janine into action. "Ok, look through your scope, I have already done the distance for you. We are shooting at a target a mile away, can you see it?"
I looked through the scope for a couple of seconds before spotting what Janine was talking about. It was a small disc and judging from its texture, it looked like Tatamium, the same material used in the training room in my home.
"Uh-huh. I can see it." I commented. "Good." Janine then leaned forward, her body pressing against mine as she reached for one of the bullets in the pouch and chambered it for me. "Try to hit it." She declared.
I paused for a moment, turning my head slightly so she was in my peripherals as she had sat back up, I asked. "Don’t you want to take the first shot Janine? I know how much you want this."
Janine smiled lovingly at me for a moment before leaning down once more. She then kissed me on the cheek, before brushing where she just kissed with her thumb. "Apollo, I wouldn’t be here without you. We have been over this. You have given me a gift I can never repay. Now, please, hurry up and take the shot so I can kick you off the gun for my turn."
I ignored the warmth tingling from my cheek and smiled before looking down my weapons scope once more. I then inhaled sharply after finding my mark and held it for a few seconds. Once I was comfortable with my shot I exhaled and on the respiratory pause I shot.
The recoil of the gun shot back with more force than I expected, throwing my aim off slightly. Still though, the bullet travelled the mile in just shy of two seconds and glanced the very tip top right corner of the target, causing it to begin spinning in place.
Janine clapped excitedly for me seeing me hit the target before hugging me from behind. "See! You did it! Aren’t I a way better teacher than you are! Your brace was atrocious and still you hit the target... Man, I am brilliant."
I let Janine have her moment, I was enjoying over the past few days how our physical contact was becoming more lax. We had been continuing our shower ritual in the mornings, she still jolted from the tickling sensation from time to time, but she was getting almost as comfortable as Valerica is around me and I was loving it. Touch was my love language after all.
Then she jabbed me in the ribs, hard. "Ok, now move! It’s my turn!" She declared. I began rolling to the side as she dismounted me with elegance. I then stood up and watched her as she and the gun became one entity.
She went for the same target I went for. She loaded the weapon for herself and went through her own breathing ritual. She was aiming for just right of dead centre, to encourage the spinning as she reckoned that is what kept the material from breaking.
When Janine fired her shot I watched her whole body jolt and jiggle from the recoil. However, two seconds later, her shot had stayed true and hit directly where she wanted to hit.
"Oh yeah, me and you are going places." She whispered to the gun seductively, before a voice suddenly spoke out from behind us, startling both Janine and I.
"You know, I was offered a Sepiida or two for my services, I always turned it down because I think sex is gross. But if they could have fired a weapon as well as you dear, I might have reconsidered."
Janine turned around and opened her mouth to say something, but Fergus put up his hand. "Look, I don’t care that you are blue, It doesn’t bother me in the slightest. At the end of the day, you have talent and Sepiida or no, I don’t squander a sniper’s talent. When you are with this club, you train freely. I will supply you with your own weapon and ammo and in return, you can tell me about some of your combat missions sometime. Deal?"