Triggering Change [Natasha/Violet]

Natasha was right. She was scared to hold it. She knew it was loaded, but didn’t understand anything about the safety, how easy the trigger could be pulled, any sort of maintenance. Anything she knew about guns came from movies, and when she bought the thing, she learned the sound they made was much different because the man insisted on demonstrating it. Then he charged her for the bullet…

“Really?” Violet’s eyes brightened. There was no way she could afford to pay for lessons, so if Aunt Natasha could teach her, this would be so much better… and safer… and less scary. “If you could, I would really appreciate it; I don’t want anything like that to happen again. I am training in martial arts, but a gun makes me feel safer when they’re not around… and they can’t be around all the time… So, when can we start? Is there a place we have to go?” Clearly, she was eager.

"A lil self-defense never hurts, I reckon. Solomon's a busy soldier and I dunno how much that other guy works, but let's just say he can be a pretty busy guy, too."

Natasha agreed with the notion. She didn't want a repeat of what happened before. Violet dealt with enough in her life. At any rate, since she appeared to be so eager, and Natasha had some free time to spare, she supposed there was nothing wrong with taking her niece out to a local shooting range in the City of Lights. Well, it was more akin to a place where most of the Quincy practiced their archery and other forms of long-range combat.

Even so, it still accomplished a similar intention of hitting a target with pinpoint accuracy. After making an expedient dash upstairs and grabbing her keys, along with throwing on a casual outfit for the day, she returned. With that squared away, she closed the door behind them and guided her to the shooting range.

"I know just the place, sugar. Follow me."

“He is… They both are busy a lot. Important jobs,” Violet said, hoping that her job with Gracen Arms comes through. She was probably going to be a secretary or something, whatever was safest. She couldn’t do anything like the Vandenreich or Bodyguard stuff… at least not yet. That was the point of learning!

Violet followed Aunt Natasha to the bottom of her stairs and waited patiently for her to return. The change in outfit was a bit of a surprise, but she realized they would be going now, not later. An excited smile accompanied a quick nod as she followed her Aunt to the shooting range. She did ask Natasha to carry the gun until they got there. She was scared of carrying it, like it would go off randomly.

“I didn’t… I didn’t get this the smart way… I couldn’t afford it,” Violet admitted on their way to the shooting range. “I tried doing it through a, you know, legal shop… but uh… It was too expensive, and I needed it a lot faster… I’m sorry.”

"Hm?"

Natasha blinked softly as Violet handed the gun over, listening to her explanation with a curious expression. When she revealed how she acquired it, Natasha waved a hand to assuage any worry that she might judge her. Since money was often difficult for her to come by, who was she to be the judge and executioner around everyone else? It was an act out of desperation to keep herself protected. Nothing wrong with that. A gentle hand consoled her on her shoulder as she held the gun in her hand properly.

"That's okay, sweetheart. I ain't justifyin' the action, but I get it. Just don't go repeatin' it again, ya hear? I'm happy to be talkin' to ya again. Any more robberies and they might be tempted to toss ya out of the city. We can't have that, can we? Sides', I know of plenty of places where you can get good deals on firearms. I even have a collection of em' to call my own, sugar."

Violet was confused for a moment, but she soon realized that her Aunt thought she stole the gun. No, Violet was trying to admit she bought it cheap off of some dealer in a back alley in Downtown. Hearing that, she didn’t want to admit the truth, so she just nodded and inwardly promised not to do anything that stupid again. Her actions did reflect on the people that knew her, like her Aunt and Vanyel and Solomon. She didn’t want to get them in trouble too…

“I just want one or two… handguns, I mean. I saw this really cool rifle at the shop I looked at, but it was even worse…” Violet shuddered at the price. Maybe if this job Vanyel was trying to get her panned out, she could pay for it in… a year?

"Yea... Shockingly enough, guns are pretty expensive nowadays. With the advent of spiritually aware humans, I'm not all that shocked to see gun prices so high. Even more so when you consider how rare they might be when it comes to certain models, especially the vintage ones."

Natasha chuckled softly as they finally arrived at the shooting range she had grown familiar with since the first days she moved in here. In some ways, it was like her home away from home. Natasha stroked her chin softly as she looked back at Violet. This was going to be an interesting experience, all things considered.

There was a method to wielding and firing a gun, and she wouldn't let the general populace tell her otherwise. One had to always consider their arm, their stance, and the way they held it. Firing one in haste could only take someone so far. Finding a range where they were allowed ample space and the freedom to navigate, Natasha formed a pistol of reishi in her free hand, grinning from ear to ear. It was time to get this show on the road!

"Alright, sweetheart. We're here. Time to get started. First things first, I'm going to need you to take this back from me so I can show you how to hold one. It goes without saying, but you can't be afraid of holdin' a gun, Violet. It can be a little intimidatin', sure, but ya gotta treat these bad boys like they're yer best friends."

Violet was in awe at the range. This really seemed to grab her interest as she looked around at the posters, rules, and guns on display. They soon made it back to their own private range, where targets were already set up to practice.

As they were getting ready, Natasha held her gun back and explained that she had to treat them like her best friends. “…I need two then,” Violet said as she took the gun back, a silly little grin on her face as she tried to make a joke.

“Solomon and Vanyel… Two best friends, two guns.”

It was then that she noticed her Aunt already had a gun. She hadn’t seen that it popped out of nowhere. Violet blinked, eyes wide as she pointed at it. “Wait, did you summon that?” she asked, realizing it could be her spirit weapon.

"Sure did, honey."

Natasha chortled softly as she spun her spirit weapon around, grinning from ear to ear. While she was an avid gun collector in her own right - in battle, she could manipulate, create, and freely shape her spirit weapon in her desired form. That is, some of her favorite firearms from what most might consider an anachronistic past. It was a pretty nifty technique, one she favored employing in battles that required a different form of firepower.

Since she was teaching her how to fire at a target, she reckoned the handgun form would suit the occasion real nicely. Hearing what she wanted to name those guns, she couldn't help but smile warmly as she pinched her cheek a little. What a sweet gesture. She could get behind that symbolism any day, even if she was speaking jestfully.

"Now ain't that a sweet gesture? Well, before you can hold Solo and Van and start defendin' yourself, first we'll start with one. Now, look at me and try and replicate my movements if you follow."

Assuming a basic stance, Natasha placed her gun forward at the target in front of her. One foot forward, both hands wrapped around the grip of the firearm. Pressing the trigger without missing a beat, she released a high velocity bullet that pierced the target with resounding accuracy.

Violet’s smile grew childishly as her cheeks were pinched. The physical affection she had been recieving since leaving home was the best. She wasn’t being hit, slapped, dragged by her hair, thrown into a shed… It was happy and gentle and kind. And each time it happened, Violet always felt a strange, unfamiliar warmth. She did not understand what it was, but she knew it made her happy.

Taking off her jacket, she set it to the side and did her best to mimic her Aunt’s stance, following the motions and aiming at the target like Natasha was. She even followed the motion that fired the bullet, but Violet’s gun didn’t go off. She was… immediately confused. This was a normal gun and it was loaded, so she didn’t have to use reishi, right? “Um… I don’t know what’s wrong…” she said, embarrassed.

"I think I know what the issue is, sweetheart. Let me see somethin' real quick."

Natasha allowed her spirit weapon to vanish into reishi momentarily, walking over to Violet to pinpoint the issue. The stance was right, form was right, and she mimicked her movements pretty well. Since all that was properly accounted for, it was quite obvious what the issue was. Gently pulling the gun from her hand, Natasha placed the gun forward at another target, unlocked the safety, and fired an explosive bullet round into the target. Huh... it felt nice firing off an actual gun, didn't it? Turning back to her niece with a grin, she handed the gun back to her.

"Safety lock was still in. They're usually there to prevent most firearms from firing accidentally, especially if you drop one by mistake. Now, let's take it from the top, shall we?"